Trust in Me
by CapitalD
Summary: Riza's trust in Roy is challenged as she gets captured by men, whose sole goal is to make Roy suffer, and finds herself doubting everything she has ever believed in. Royai.
1. Chapter 1

Hi everyone. I'm back with a new story that I hope will be even better than all my old ones. This one will be written a bit differently. Every chapter takes a person's point of view, so you can sort of make out the story of many characters. Enjoy.

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**RIZA**

Riza fell into her couch with a loud thump and sighed heavily as she allowed her muscles to relieve themselves. Boxes ad other articles were strewn around the floor of her new apartment, but Riza was too tired to do anything about it. It was her first night back in Central after their mission in Ishbal and all she wanted to do was sleep, but the rare silence and free time she had was making her relish the moment and preventing her from getting the rest she desperately needed. _Too long. It's been too long._

After the Promised Day, Roy had gotten his eyesight back with Dr Marcoh's remaining Philosopher's stone on the condition that he help rebuild Ishbal. True to his words, the moment Roy was out of the hospital, the project was in full throttle and their team was headed out East. In Ishbal, everyday was a challenge, be it the opposition, the lingering hatred, the lack of man power and equipment or the heat. There was always something in their way. One thing they didn't lack was the funds. When the people of Amestris heard about the Flame Alchemist's project and resolution, donations came pouring in and volunteers showed up at the reconstruction sites. There were many supporters and the constructions were getting done fast, much to their delight and everyone else's.

Despite all the help they got, it took them much longer than they had anticipated. Their team was only supposed to be there in the beginning of the project, to assure that all was going according to plan and that everything was well organized. However, something unexpected always came up that needed Roy's attention and his presence so their team ended up staying on the site for almost fourteen months. Everyday was hectic and they were always running around everywhere they were needed. All of them had their own assignments and they rarely got to work together. Their busy schedules were also accentuated with the promotions they all received before heading out east. Riza was now a Lieutenant Colonel, Havoc, Breda and Falman were promoted to Captain and Fuery was now a Second Lieutenant.

_I have to sleep_. Riza slid down on her couch to lay on it full length and propped her feet up. Her bed had just come in today with all the boxes and it was still in its plastic wrapping. _At least I have a day off tomorrow._ Their team, except for Roy, had a day off tomorrow to allow themselves time to settle into their new homes. The General, however, had an urgent meeting called by the Fuhrer the next morning and too many things to take care of. Luckily, Central had already finished rebuilding the city after the Promised Day by the time they came back, so at least Roy wouldn't have to be bothered by that.

The next morning, Riza woke up freezing with a sore neck. _Damn it, I should've grabbed a blanket._ She shuffled around looking for her slippers, then peeked at the clock. _Only 6:30?_ Riza was used to waking up at 6 o'clock sharp for the past ten years and found it hard to oversleep on her days off. She wasted no time to eat a little breakfast before she set herself to her boxes. It took her all morning to get her things out of their boxes and by the time she was finishing up, it was close to noon. She went to open her fridge only to remember that it was empty and closed it back in frustration. She called Hayate, grabbed his leash and was getting ready to go out, but before she could put on her shoes, the phone rang.

"Riza Hawkeye speaking," she said into the receiver, curious to find out who could be calling her on her first day in Central.

"Hawkeye, it's me."

"General, sir. How did the meeting go?" she inquired after recognizing his voice.

"It was nerve-racking. Did you have lunch yet?"

"No, sir. I was about to head out to get something to eat since my fridge is empty," Riza answered, curious about his sudden change of topic. "Is everything all right sir?"

"Yes. We should go eat together. I have something to tell you. Where do you want to eat Hawkeye?" Riza heard him say hastily, like he was rushed to go somewhere.

"Anywhere would be fine, sir." Riza was getting more curious and anxious by the minute. His behavior was odd and she was itching to find out what he had to tell her.

"Perfect, we can meet at the coffee shop near HQ. The one with the terrace and the green chairs. Do you think you can get there in fifteen or twenty minutes?"

"Yes, sir. I'll see you soon." Riza answered swiftly.

"All right, see you there." They both hung up and Riza dashed out of the door.

Her apartment wasn't too far from headquarters and was also near a market where she could do her groceries. This allowed her to go everywhere she needed to go on foot. The walk to headquarters took her a little over fifteen minutes, but if she walked faster, she could get there in thirteen minutes. Hayate was walking diligently beside her, just happy to be getting out of the house. Since it was her day off, she wore her hair down, was out of her uniform and wore simple jeans and a three-quartered sleeve blouse. Since she had cut her hair before heading out east, her hair had grown back and reached the top of her shoulder blades.

It didn't take her long to find the meeting place and when she came closer, she saw Roy already seated on the terrace waiting for her.

"Sorry for being late, sir," Riza said as she seated herself in front of him, tying Hayate's leash to one of her chair's leg, even though she knew it wasn't necessary.

"Don't worry about it Hawkeye. You're not the one that's late. I was the one who was early." Riza smiled a bit to his wide grin. She noticed how he was missing his military jacket and was only dressed in a white dress shirt and his blue military pants with the butt cape and the black boots. He most likely decided to leave his jacket, hoping to get less attention from his military rank and blend in to the crowd.

Riza sighed inwardly at his carefree demeanor. Even if they were this close to headquarters, she was still worried about his safety and was not enjoying being out in the open this way. Even though he had tried to escape the people's eyes, she knew it was impossible. Roy Mustang was known, once more, as the hero of Ishbal after he had rebuilt the war zone and reinstalled their rightful citizens. His face had been publicized in almost every newspaper and magazine in Amestris and he was also known for being the most eligible bachelor in the country. All of that added up to one simple thing: making Riza Hawkeye ever more paranoid about the General's safety. She could see it clearly, the quick glances people were giving them, even the lustful looks from women who walked by and from the waitresses.

"Sir, why do we have to eat in the open. It's not safe for you. Do you even have your gloves on you?" She asked him instantly.

"It's fine Hawkeye. And yes, I do have my gloves on me. They're in my pockets. Besides, I knew you'd have Hayate with you so we would have to be one the terrace to attach him somewhere." Riza still gave him a disapproving look. _Too carefree._ "Anyways, let's order something first. I'm starving."

"Sir, what did you have to tell me?" Riza urged him. It must've been something important for him to call her out to tell her in person.

But Roy just waved it off and said, "We should eat first Hawkeye. I'll tell you after."

With that said, she quickly picked a chicken salad and Roy a club sandwich. While they waited for the food, Roy asked her about her day off.

"I just finishes unpacking everything. All I need to do is fill up my fridge with some food," she told him.

"Always the same Hawkeye, never wasting any time to get things done."

"If it wasn't for me, nothing would get done in our team, especially in the office," she replied brusquely.

"I know, I know. It was meant as a compliment. We would be all dead, buried under our paperwork if it wasn't for you," Roy said with amusement. "But you should also take advantage of your free day to relax and do other things, you know. You only have today before we all start work again tomorrow."

"Yes, I agree. And here you are, using up my precious free time," Riza replied smartly, with a playful tone. Roy feigned hurt and laughed out loud when their food finally came. Roy practically gobbled it down, but slowed down as he munched on his fries, matching Riza's speed as she ate her salad. When they were done and the plates were cleared, Riza got down to business.

"Sir, tell me what you've been wanting to tell me," she practically demanded. Hearing her tone, Roy could only submit to her fierce gaze.

"I'm going to be the next Fuhrer," Roy said, almost as if it was nothing serious. Riza stared at him, mouth agape, not a muscle moving. After knowing this man for over ten years, she learned to read him like an open book and knew when he lied or when he was telling the truth. As she studied his face, she could tell he was dead serious.

"How do you know?" Riza asked cautiously, fearing she had heard wrong or that this was some bad joke he was playing on her.

"All the Generals were called in this morning and the Fuhrer announced his decision to step down by the end of this month. Apparently it was unanimously decided that I should be the next Fuhrer." Roy said it in a voice that made her believe he was doubting his own words.

"That's it? Just like that?" she asked incredulously.

"Yeah." A silence engulfed them as they thought about what had just been said.

"How come Fuhrer Grumman wants to step down so soon. It hasn't even been two years," Riza asked him.

"Well, he said he had enough of it and that he was supposed to retire three years ago, but since things became hectic, he decided to stay in order to calm things down before he left." Another silence came by while she mused about this news and while he waited patiently for her to speak again.

"I- well, congratulations, sir. I never expected you to reach your goal this way, but you still made it. You definitely deserve it." Riza gave him her best smile, which only made him smile back with a hint of embarrassment.

"Thanks Hawkeye. I couldn't have made it without you," Roy told her, with a somewhat shy look, but she couldn't have been sure. "I wanted you to be the first one to know. From today onwards, until the day I'm proclaimed the next Fuhrer, there's going to be a lot of work to get done and a lot of changes going around." Riza just nodded at him, accepting everything unconditionally. Roy was staring at her, studying her face, and hesitating about something.

"What is it, sir?" Roy jumped slightly at her sudden question.

"Well, you promised to protect me until I reached my goal. Now that we know I reached it, what are you going to do afterwards?" Riza blinked at the question. _Does he think I'll leave him now, of all times? _Riza was amused by his fear he desperately tried to hide. She knew he was anticipating her answer, maybe even dreading it. His hands constantly fiddled with his napkin while he waited. _It wouldn't hurt to tease him a little._

Riza made an effort to sigh loudly. "I don't know. I've never had the time to think about it. Maybe I should go to college, or open my own shop, or go travel." Her smile stretched as she watched him cringe awkwardly at each thing she said. "But in the mean time, I'll just continue with the same job until I decide what I want to do," she finished cooly. Riza saw the relief and satisfaction on his face as he recuperated from his shock.

Roy accompanied her to the market to buy his own groceries after their lunch, that he relentlessly insisted on paying. He also had the rest of the day off for himself, to give him a bit of time to settle into his own place. As thanks for lunch, she offered to help him unpack his boxes at his apartment, which he gladly accepted. It didn't take long before they were done unpacking, since most of his belongings were books. It was mid-afternoon when Riza decided to head back to her place.

"It's been a long time we haven't had time to ourselves like this." Roy grinned at her.

"Yes, I agree." Ever since they went to Ishbal, there was never, or rarely, a time when they were just the two of them. "I should get going, sir. I still have to put my groceries in the fridge."

"All right, thanks a lot for coming over and helping me with this. I don't think I would've been able to finish unpacking all these boxes today by myself." Roy walked her to the door.

"Are you going to be okay with all those bags?" He pointed to her groceries.

"Sir, it's only three bags. I think I can handle it."

"Fine, fine. Be careful and I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Yes, good day, sir."

Like Roy predicted, their work in Central was no less hectic than it was in the east. Their paperwork came endlessly and they were running everywhere. At least their team was once again working together in the same office, which allowed them to talk to each other whenever they felt like it. This prompted Riza to discipline them whenever their chatter got out of hand. They just didn't have the time to procrastinate with all the workload coming in. The sudden increase in their work was caused by the changes and reforms in the military that were coming soon. The change of power was found out by the team in the early afternoon which made everyone cheer.

"Sir, why didn't you tell us sooner? It should've been the first thing you said this morning!" Havoc exclaimed excitedly.

"I just found out yesterday myself and I wanted to see how long it would take you guys before you figured it out. I mean, we've been signing these paperwork about the changes that are going to happen in the military all morning. I would assume you guys would read a bit before signing and filing them away." Roy said exasperatedly.

The men chose to ignore his comment and talked among themselves, spreading the news to everyone they spoke to. In the end, Riza had to threaten them to sit back down and continue their work. But even then, they were all fidgety and giddy like little schoolgirls for the rest of the day.

This same atmosphere continued for the rest of the month and seemed to intensify near the end. Riza didn't mind it as much because, for once, they were actually getting work done on time, even the General. Everyone anticipated the end of the month as much as Roy and it seemed to give them all the extra boost they needed to survive this cumbersome workload. Riza only hoped it would stay this way after he became the Fuhrer. _I doubt it._

In only two weeks after Roy had heard the news from the Fuhrer, everyone in Amestris knew of his oncoming promotion. Many high ranking officers, such as other generals, colonels and majors came to congratulate him in person. Some of them even brought up talk of marriages and hinted at some daughters or nieces.

On the eve of his inauguration, Riza was alone in the office late at night sorting out through the last of the day's paperwork. _They really meant to work us until the very last day._ She had not slept much during the whole week and hadn't felt this tired since her trainee days. She stared with temptation at the office couch and finally decided to give in after a heated debate with her inner perfect soldier. _I've never fallen asleep on duty in all my military career. I deserve at least this much on the eve of Roy's inauguration tomorrow._ She tentatively laid down on her side, her back to the backrest and nestled herself comfortably. _Yes, I definitely deserve this. Just ten minutes._

Little did she know that she was not alone in the building. She felt something drape on her, but she was too drowsy and confused to know what it was. _I'm in the office!_ She remembered and suddenly bolted upright, her hand reaching for her gun, only to knock her head on something hard and landing straight back on the couch, seething.

"Ow, ow, ow. That hurt Hawkeye. I only meant to cover you with something, afraid that you would get cold." Roy was on the floor, squatting, and rubbing his forehead. Riza looked down at her body and saw his long black jacket covering her legs. She quickly scrambled on her feet and snapped into a salute.

"I'm sorry, sir. I didn't mean to fall asleep at work, nor did I mean to hit your forehead." Riza could not have felt even worse than she did at that moment. She had betrayed her image of a good soldier and even did it in front of her commanding officer, who would be the Fuhrer tomorrow. Riza was washed up with shame.

"It's okay Hawkeye. I know you didn't sleep much this week, neither have I. You're always awake and perfect during the day, it's only normal that you relax and sleep at night," Roy chuckled, "I have to say though, I was surprised to find you asleep on the couch. If I hadn't seen you, I would've slept right on top of you." Roy laughed out loud, but calmed down after he saw how flushed her face was.

"Well, we should both be getting home. It's already this late and we have a big day tomorrow," Roy said, looking away and scratching the back of his head.

"What time is it, sir?"

"It's already nine thirty." _Damn! I slept for an hour. How stupid can you be?_ Riza scolded herself and promised herself never to sleep at the office again.

They gathered up the little things they had and left headquarters, walking silently, side by side. At the gate, they parted ways.

"See you tomorrow General Mustang."

"Yes, Lieutenant Colonel Hawkeye. It's the last time I will be called by that rank, I hope." Roy smirked at her.

"Indeed, sir." Riza gave him her own smirk.

Riza woke up the next day at the crack of dawn and was already at headquarters by the time the sun was fully up. She had a busy day ahead of her and she didn't dare waste any time. As Roy's aide and bodyguard for the past ten years, she was appointed the head chief of his security team on this important day and she wanted to make damn sure that nothing went wrong. _We've waiting for this day since the Ishbal war. Nothing will get in our way, not as long as I'm beside him._ That also meant that she wouldn't be able to be close to him at all times, especially when he went up in front of the citizens and soldiers to receive his title and honours. It will be a full day of running around.

Riza was so busy that day and focused on her tasks that she barely remembered how the ceremony went. She didn't even get to see it completely. But, at the end of the day, nothing bad or chaotic had happened and she was glad everything went as planned and was done with. Now all she wanted to do was find him, but he was everywhere and nowhere at the same time. HQ was packed beyond belief, with soldiers everywhere, coming from all corners of Amestris. When she heard he was at one place, by the time she got there, he was gone and was someplace else.

In the end, she got tired of chasing after him and decided to head back to their office. When she unlocked it and went in, it was empty. _Where are all the others?_ She had seen the other men when she was patrolling during the ceremony, but now that it was over and everyone was walking everywhere, she had no luck finding them.

She sat down heavily in her own chair and rubbed her eyes. She knew she probably looked haggard and had bags underneath her eyes. She sighed out loud and leaned back in her chair. Looking around the office, she felt a bit sad and nostalgic. It had been this office they worked in before they left for Ishbal and it was the same office they came back to a month ago. Roy's desk was always at the far end of the room, facing all of them. Her own desk was a bit to the side, where she had a clear view of Roy's desk and all the others' so she could supervise them. The rest of the team's desks were sticked together in the middle of the room. She smiled at the thought of them procrastinating and finding ways to make work funner, which always ended with her scolding them. This had been her second home and them, her second family. The thought of changing any of it saddened her.

She snapped out of her thoughts when she heard the doorknob rattle, then the turn of a key and someone burst in quickly, closing the door behind him. The said person breathed heavily and sagged his shoulders. She knew this man and could recognized his back anywhere, since she promised to shoot it if ever he erred from his path.

"Sir, why are you here?" She stood up and walked towards him.

"I knew you'd be in here. It's crazy out there. People are crowding around me like vultures to a corpse, hoping to get favor from me. I was looking for you, but you never came to rescue me." Roy gave her a tired smile.

"I couldn't get to you. The vultures devoured you too fast," Riza played along.

Roy stood in front of her and smiled proudly. "Did you see me on the podium?"

"Of course I did, everyone did. It's the moment we've all been waiting for." She looked up at him and studied the man she had blindly followed for as long as she could remember. He was her life, he was her dream and he is everything to her.

Her lack of words and expression made him curious and his smile wavered. But before he could say anything, she smiled at him softly and said, "Congratulations on becoming the Fuhrer," a split second later, she added, "Roy."

Riza watched his eyes widen in surprise. She had never called him by his first name, not when they where working together, not when they were alone, not when they were off duty, not when they were fighting in the Ishbal war, not when she had shown him the secret to flame alchemy, not when he had come back to her father's house to plead for his secrets, not when he had left her to join the military. The last time she had called him by his name was when they were young, at her father's house, when Roy was still a novice apprentice. It had taken her many months to be convinced by him to call him by his name, and even that had not lasted very long. When her father had heard her say call him, he had scolded her and told her to call him 'Mr Mustang'. The short period of time she had called him 'Roy' was probably her happiest days, where she had a friend to talk to and a companion in her, otherwise, silent home. Riza had always longed for those days to come back but had never dared bring it up again.

This time, she made an exception. She wanted to be the young Riza standing in front of him. The friend in his childhood days. She wanted to be her, not the soldier she had become, not the killer she had become, not the weary Hawkeye she was today. The lapse of silence that followed felt like a decade and she was starting to doubt whether it had been a good idea or not. _Maybe he doesn't remember. Maybe he finds it weird and doesn't know what to say. Maybe he doesn't like it..._

As fast as her doubts had plagued her, Roy circled her in his arms in a tight embrace. Riza gasped and tensed all over. "Thanks Riza. It means a lot to me to hear you say it." She let go of a breath she hadn't known she had been holding in and returned his hug. _He knows it's me._

A sudden knock on the door jolted them apart and ended their moment. Roy opened the door to welcome in many generals and other high ranking soldiers. Riza watched as he was swept away by this mob of favor-seeking hypocrites and knew their short reunion had ended for good and that she was back as Riza Hawkeye, Lieutenant Colonel, the Fuhrer's aide and bodyguard. At least she hoped she would continue being.

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A.N.: How's the first chapter? It was supposed to be longer, but as I was writing, there were many things that I wanted to add, so I decided to split it in two. This story will probably be longer than my other three. The updates will probably be irregular, but I'm panning to write many chapters in advance before publishing them so it could be kind of regular. I just wanted to know if the first chapter and probably the second would seem like an interesting story. Please leave me a review ;)

D


	2. Chapter 2

**Riza**

The Fuhrer's new office was over two times bigger than their previous one. This time, however, Roy's desk was separated by two thick wooden doors to give him privacy. That left Riza and the rest of Roy's direct subordinates in the other part of the room. With these new accommodations, Riza was required to make multiple visits during the day to make sure he didn't fall asleep on the job. However, she was relieved to always find him working when she entered, whether he would be on the phone with an important person or signing some papers, it would seem that he had somewhat matured. _It's about time._

It was just the first week in their new office and there were still many things she had to get used to. For instance, there was always someone asking for an audience with the Fuhrer whenever he had some free time and his meetings were endless. Riza found it a bit more challenging to try and fit everything together in his schedule and at the same time, trying to fit his in with hers. Since she was no longer a First Lieutenant, she had more responsibilities and other matters to take care of. In fact, having her skills recognized by the military and an impeccable reputation for being the perfect soldier, she was asked to be in charge of the military's recruitment in Central. That meant she was in charge of picking good coaches and trainers, and overseeing their training methods and programs. She also volunteered to give some lessons and demonstrations in the shooting range when she had the time. _Whenever that will be._

At the beginning of the second week, two soldiers came into the office. One of them was tall, with strong shoulders and this dark brown hair. He was quite handsome and looked like a silent and serious man. On the other hand, the other man was just a bit shorter and as skinny as a boy. He had a mop of pale blond hair and piercing green eyes, and proved to be better looking than the first one. He had an easy-going air about him and didn't seem as stoic as the first one.

"I am Warrant Officer Michael Royce and this is Warrant Officer Thomas Brandt," said the first man. "We were asked to come here to be the Fuhrer's new assistants."

Riza stared at at these young soldiers in their perfect salute. She had not heard anything about this, but she decided to go along with it, hoping Roy knew a bit more about these new assistants of his than she did.

"I am Lieutenant Colonel Riza Hawkeye," she saluted back at them, "I will inform the Fuhrer of your arrival."

She went over to the big wooden doors and knocked lightly. She entered after getting his permission and walked to the front of his desk. He was busy signing some papers and reading some more on the side.

"What is it Hawkeye? Is it lunch time already?" he asked as he looked up at her and glanced at the clock.

"No, sir. But you have two new assistants who just came in. Warrant Officer Michael Royce and Thomas Brandt."

"Oh yes! I forgot about them. Actually, I forgot to tell you about it, but I requested some assistants to help me with my meetings, schedule and little things of the sort. I know it's a heavy burden for you handle all of these things, especially with the extra work you've been getting these days. I don't want to overwork you." Seeing her frown, he added, "Even if I'm the Fuhrer now and it seems like I never have the time to do anything else, I still know what's going on at the other side of this door. I know the workload you're all getting, especially you. It's not that you're doing a bad job. Heck, you're doing the work of three people and it's still perfect," Roy laughed lightly.

Riza huffed a bit. "Alright, sir. I appreciate the gesture." She really did. Somehow she was able to juggle everything at once for the first week, but she had only realized how tired she was by the end of the week and she was starting to worry about her physical and mental health if her work continued in the same way. "May I call them in sir?"

After a quick nod from Roy, Riza went back to open the door and usher them in, before closing it and going back to her desk. After ten or fifteen minutes, Roy came out with his two assistants in tail and cleared his throat. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at him, awaiting his announcements.

"Everyone, I would like to present you the two newest members of our team, Warrant Officers Michael Royce and Thomas Brandt. They're going to be my assistants from now on, because we can't let Hawkeye do all the work now can we?" The two younger soldiers saluted.

"Boys, this is Lieutenant Colonel, my aide and personal bodyguard," he presented them to her. "You'll he learning from her in the beginning, so listen carefully to everything she says. By the way, stay on her good side. Her wrath is quite a scary sight." Roy laughed and tried to ignore her glare. He then moved on to the other men around the room.

"Here we have Captain Jean Havoc. He smokes like a chimney, but only outside though. Stay away from him if you want to live longer. This is Captain Heymans Breda. He's scared of dogs and eats anything you throw at him, but also a mastermind. This is our walking dictionary and encyclopedia, Captain Vato Falman. And here we have our little techy, Second Lieutenant Kain Fuery. He handles all the electronic and complicated things of the sort." Roy looked around the room in deep thought, before he spun around and walked back to Riza's desk. He stopped on the side of it and pointed down. "Here's our team mascot, the adorably fierce Black Hayate, whose mistress is our very own fierce Lieutenant Colonel Hawk- ow!"

Roy rubbed the side of his ribs that was elbowed by Riza. When he looked at her, she feigned ignorance. The two new soldier were staring at them with wide eyes and open mouths. Clearly they were not used to the casual demeanor of their much respected Fuhrer.

"Brandt, Royce, close your mouths. We have much work to do. Sir, I'll take it over from here. You can get back to work now," Riza said sternly.

"Yes, yes." Roy walked sluggishly back into his office and closed his doors.

Riza spent the rest of the day teaching the two new assistants everything they had to know to fully assist the Fuhrer. At the same time, she also got the chance to find out what kind of people they were and to judge if she trusted them enough to leave them alone with Roy.

Michael Royce was the quieter one of the two. He was hard-working, a fast learner and swift with his hands. He sort of reminded her of herself when she had first started. On the other hand, Thomas Brandt reminded her of Havoc. He was more jolly and talkative, but when asked to do something, he did it without a fault and was dependable. _Good. We have two useful men. I guess I won't have to worry too much about the Fuhrer._

"I expect good results from both of you. We can't have any errors regarding the Fuhrer's work, nor with his schedule. It's already jam-packed as it is and I would rather keep it this way than to make it worse. Make sure he gets his work done and that he gets to his meetings on time. I won't always be there, but if ever you have any more questions or if there's something that you two have trouble with, don't hesitate to ask me or any of the other men. One more thing. If he procrastinates too much or is whining about a meeting, tell him you'll come get me." When she saw them bob their head, she nodded and dismissed them.

It was mid-afternoon and Riza was done with her paperwork. _Maybe I'll pay a visit to the range._ She hadn't yet had the chance to visit the range since she came back to Central and missed it awfully. There were also the new recruits who've been training over there and who were apparently eager to meet her. The numbers of new soldiers have also been growing ever since the news of Roy taking the power was known to the public.

Riza walked briskly towards the range, saluting and nodding at the soldiers on her way. Ever since she had been promoted, she noticed that she received more attention and respect from lower ranking soldiers. The fact that she was also the Fuhrer's aide helped. _Better than mocking looks I suppose._

She could hear firing in the range before she even reached it. She stepped into the women's locker room and put her jacket in her locker. Coming out of it, she walked towards the gun rack and noticed how half of it was empty. _There must be a lesson or something_. She went to unlock her personal rifle, slung it behind her and walked into the range.

The range was built to accommodate different levels of difficulties. Each station was aligned side by side, where the easiest targets were at the far left and the hardest ones at the right. The distances of the targets were adjustable, but only the farthest ones were at the far right. If you wanted to practice with an ever bigger distance, a door at the right side of the room led to the outside range where there were no walls to limit your shooting distance. Riza often practised outside with her sniper rifle, but with a handgun and a regular rifle, she preferred staying indoors.

Many of the lanes were taken, but mostly the ones closest to the left side. _All new faces._ Riza didn't recognize any of her colleagues among the new soldiers. Half of them were practising their shooting at at large target sheets, while the other half waited and watched by the benches. She strolled casually behind the shooters, noting their stances, their aim and accuracy and nodding in satisfaction at some of them._ A better group than I thought_. This group was better than some of the other ones she had seen a few years back and she was glad for it.

As she walked by, stopping at some lanes to watch a specific person or two, she heard some of them whispering in her back, others giving her queer looks and some even frowned at her. _Here it comes, again._ Riza was not foreign to hostility and insolence. In fact she had lived through it during her trainee period and a few times after it. The worst was during the Ishbal war. People often looked down on her for being a woman, and at that time, a young girl. It was always either harassment or some jealousy and hatred. Albeit rarely, she did receive some sexist comments a few times, but she took care of them pretty quickly and was never bothered by those fools again.

"Hey, blondie! We've never seen you around. You new here?" A young man sitting on her bench with others beside him called her out. They were all dressed the same way as her, a black fitted short sleeved shirt and the military blue pants. _They don't know who I am. Perfect._ She decided to play along. The smile this guy was giving her wasn't exactly sincere and showed nothing but contempt.

"I just came. I'm Riza. You?" _It's true. I just came._ The man stood up and walked towards her with a smug look on his face.

"I'm Nicholas Scott. I joined the military a month and a half ago. My father's a Major. Perhaps you might have heard of him, Major Scott. He often meets with the Fuhrer." _Major Scott, huh? He just got promoted, although he didn't deserve it. I'm sure Roy has never heard of him. _When she made no effort to answer him, he waved it off and continued. "It's all right, Riza. I supposed a new recruit like you wouldn't know who's important in the military. I see you have a rifle with you. Have you ever used it?" She thought a bit before shaking her head side to side. _Not since I came back to Central at least. _Nicholas's face seemed to brighten and he clasped his hands together. "Well, since the instructor is away for a while and it's our practise time, I suppose I can show you how it's done. Come." He grabbed her shoulder, turned her around and walked her to the easiest target.

"Luke, can we use this lane for a bit, I want to teach Riza here how to shoot properly." Luke, an even younger man, nodded silently and yielded his place to them. "Stand back and watch. It's not too hard. All you have to do is aim, looking down the notch on the barrel, then shoot." Riza watched his shot and saw it touch the side of the bulls-eye, which was the size of her fist and the target was barely forty meters away. _I guess it's pretty good for someone who's only been here a month and a half._ "I've been shooting ever since I was a kid. My dad and I go hunting sometimes." _Never mind. What can you hunt with a shot like this?_

"Why don't you give it a try now." He gestured her to the front, showing her a gallant smile. _I'll wipe that smile from your lips._ And that she did. The moment her bullet hid dead center of the bulls-eye, his mouths opened and he stared in disbelief. It didn't take long for him to recover and pretend to smile. "You have beginner's luck. Just beginner's luck. With lots of practice, you can get better and always shoot like this. But don't expect to hit the center every time you shoot."

He walked her back to the benches where the others were watching and made her sit beside him. The man to her left was the first to speak to her. "I saw your first shot! It was amazing!"

"Yeah but it's just beginner's luck. Even my first shot hit the bulls-eye," Nicholas said quickly.

"I'm Ned by the way, Ned Hewlett. Nice to meet you." Riza shook his hand and was glad not many other people had Nicholas's personality. One by one, they introduced themselves and soon, the rest who were practising came to sit with them by the benches.

"Nicholas here is our best shooter in group A. Without him, we'd never win against group B and C," a girl named Emily said. Seeing that Riza wasn't exactly comprehending the conversation, Ned explained it to her.

"You see, we were separated in three groups because there were too many of us to be able to all use the same facilities at the same time. So, sometimes when we get joint practices with the other groups at the outside range on the other side of HQ, we all compete to see which group can hit the most bulls-eyes. We only lead by a bit, but it's all because of Nick. He's the best of our group. But, you never know, maybe you'll be our next star," he smiled at her. Before she had the time to reply, someone clapped their hands loudly and yelled at them.

"Hey! Kids! What are you doing dallying around? Tired already?" The instructor decided to make his entrance at the exact time they had all stopped shooting. _Patrick Burton_. He was an older man, with a balding head and strong arms. He was the man she had always associated with Central's range. For as long as she could remember, he had been in charge of this place and was the head instructor for this section. She had grown fond of him and treated him like family, as he did her. He sometimes called her his 'soul-daughter', instead of soulmate, and had always given her council to help her improve in the past when she needed it. As she sat there silently on the bench, she watched him stalk towards them, with a stern frown upon his face.

None of them made a move, afraid the slightest twitch would anger him even more. Patrick planted his feet in front of them and crossed his arms. He was known for being strict with the new recruits, but as you got to know him, you would soon find out that he was a jolly man. "Did you join the military just to waste my time. What I hate the most it laziness! It'll get you nowhere! Now, I want all of you to resume-" Patrick suddenly halted in the middle of his sentence and stared right at her, blinking a few time. "Lieutenant Colonel Hawkeye? Is that you?" he asked, not sure of himself.

"I was starting to wonder if this group even had an instructor. I'm glad you decided to show up, Patrick." Riza said calmly and smiled at him, which made him laugh out loud. All the new soldiers' eyes turned to her, staring widely in a deathly silence.

"So you've met our new chickadees? What do you think of them?" Patrick asked her after he had enough breath to speak again.

"Friendly lot. And... interesting." Riza eyed Nicholas quickly before standing up and making her way to Patrick. All the colour from Nicholas's face seemed to have drained away and he looked down tensely when their eyes locked.

"Hawkeye, these kids have been waiting for you to show up for a month now. They've been asking me everyday and it was starting to drive me crazy." Patrick heaved a sigh. "It's good to see you again, my dear." He patted her on the back lightly and said, "Now it's about time we got a demonstration from a professional, our best one at that."

He turned back to the rest and spoke loudly, "Kids, let me introduce you to our very best sharpshooter, Lieutenant Colonel Hawkeye. I'm sure you've had the time to acquaint yourselves with her." _Yes, but no one recognized me. A pity. At least I got an idea of who they truly are._ "Everyone, watch carefully how she does it. This is the level you should all aim for."

With the introductions done, she unslung her rifle and proceeded to a medium difficulty lane in the middle of the range. She took out a box of bullets and loaded one into her rifle. Before she put on her earmuffs, she heard a loud shout from Patrick. "Do six rounds in a row!" He winked at her and she smirked. _He wants me to put on a show._ The rifles they were practising with could only load one bullet at a time, it had an average kickback, but a lot of power. Out on mission, she preferred using her own personal rifle that could load up to four bullets and allowed her to fire more shots without needing to reload every time.

She raised her rifle and fired six shots consecutively while reloading in between at an abnormally fast speed. When she lowered her gun, she turned on a switch on the side of the panel that separated each lane and the lights turned on behind the target sheet. She studied the holes and lowered her earmuffs. _I got a bit rusty._ Five of her shots had landed in the center of the red circle on the target's head, while the last one was a few millimetres off. When you looked at it without knowing how many bullets have been fired, it would seem like it had been done by two bullets.

She heard Patrick clap in the background, followed by all the rest. "See that kids? That's what you call good shooting, unlike Mr showoff here," Patrick pointed at Nicholas, which brought up some muffled laughs and some chuckles. Nicholas flushed in embarrassment at the comment. When it quieted down, Nicholas raised his head sharply.

"How do you do it, Lieutenant Colonel? How can you shoot so fast and always hit the center?"

Everyone was waiting for her answer. "Aim and shoot," Riza started, using the same words he had used on her not too long ago, but then added, "and years of practice. Only with hard work and perseverance will you get better. In real life and on the battlefield, it's either shoot or die. You learn to aim fast and reload even faster if you want to survive." Patrick nodded at her with approval.

He waited a another second to let the new soldiers take in the massage before he spoke to them. "Hear that kids? Practice. That's the magic word," he said with a fatherly tone. "Now get to it!" he bellowed.

They all scattered off. This time, everyone was practicing and she saw a few of them trying out some harder targets. Patrick walked towards his office, which was a built-in room in the range, and waved for her to follow. Inside the room, he crouched down beside his desk and brought up a long black case. _A new rifle?_ The case was a shiny black leather and it still smelled new. The thought of a brand new rifle was exciting enough to make her smile. When Patrick saw her expression, he grinned widely and said, "Come. It's too small and messy in here."

He led her to a table outside of his office and carefully lowered the case on top. He flipped the two latches and opened it. The sight of it would've made Riza gasp if she wasn't as disciplined as she was, but she held herself back. It was the newest version of her favorite model of sniper rifles that she recently saw in the catalogues, but the colour of this rifle was not one of the offered colours in it. It was a slick matte black with dark brown leather near the handle to add the little extra touch and a long slender barrel. In the case, the gun came fully equipped with different scopes, a detachable suppressor, a detachable bipod with spiked feet, a carry handle, an adjustable cheek piece, a black leather sling, a rear grip and the most interesting part was the bullet capacity. The rifle was able to attach magazines holding up to ten bullets. _It's perfect._

"Custom made. Try it." Patrick raised his eyebrows, urging her to take it.

"Are you sure? This is brand new. I don't think I should. Who is it for?" Riza was unsure of herself. She didn't like touching other people's things, especially their guns. This rifle was still shinny and new and she didn't want to be the first one to shoot from it if it was made for someone else.

"Just try it," he said gruffly. He was frowning at her. _All right. Just this one time. _She put down her own rifle on the table and gingerly took the black one, marvelling the cool metal in her hands. She raised it to eye level and peered down the barrel. Next, she loaded the magazine with the bullets that came with it and snapped it in. She picked one of the scopes and attached it to the rifle.

"I prepared a target for you!" called Patrick. He was at the far left side of the range and had set her target as far back as it allowed. She chuckled at him, took her box of bullets and walked to her lane.

"You're really trying to test me are you?" Riza joked with him.

"Of course. You've been gone for so long. I have to see if you're still able to perform well. I saw how you missed that one shot earlier." The last comment made her frown. Only Patrick knew of her strict self-discipline and how she yearned for perfection. He was one of the rare ones that dared to criticize her shooting skills, even if it was a joke.

She raised the rifle and peered through the scope. It was clear as crystal and had an excellent zoom on her paper target, with a simple thin cross in the center to guide her aim. She fired the first bullet and it hit her target in the center of the head. The sound it made, the smooth trigger and light kickback made it even better. It was a work of art. It didn't take long until she zoned out and was only focusing on her shooting.

Time went by, but she hadn't notice how much time had passed until she ran out of bullets and was forced to stop. She held the rifle with one hand as she pulled down her earmuffs with the other. Immediately, she a heard a voice in her ear.

"Do you like it?" Riza jumped and turned around quickly, coming face to face with the Fuhrer smiling down at her. She took a step back and saluted. Behind him, she could see all the new recruits looking at him with nervous eyes. The range was quieter and no one was shooting anymore. Roy waved off her salute and asked again, "so, do you like the gun?"

"What are you doing here, sir? And alone? Where are your bodyguards?" she asked, completely ignoring his question. There was still twenty minutes left until the end of the day and she didn't want him loitering around the base when there was still work left to be done.

"Calm down Hawkeye. They're at the entrance of the range. I told them to wait there. It's tiring having them following me around. Anyways, I finished all my work for today if you were wondering and when I came out, you were gone. So I asked the others and they told me you were here so here I am," Roy explained. "So, do you like the gun?"

"Yes I do- that's not the main issue right now. You came here to find me. So do you have anything to tell me, sir?" Before he could answer, she lowered her voice and said sternly, "You shouldn't wander around the base, sir. You have an image to keep up, especially in front of the new recruits."

"I know, Hawkeye. I didn't do anything embarrassing or 'unFuhrer-like' in front of them, don't worry," he said in the same hushed tone. "I just wanted to come visit the range and see you shoot a bit." When Riza gave him a suspicious look, he put a guilty look on and added, "and we wanted to know if we could finish earlier and all go to a bar. We do have two new members to our team you know? So it makes it twice as special." Roy smiled hopefully at her. _Thank god he's not facing the others._ From this angle, only she could see his face and she definitely did not want other people to see his more childish side. Thankfully, they were also apart from the group and far away enough so that no one could hear them.

Riza grunted in disapproval but submitted to his pleading. "Fine, but they have to tidy up they desks before leaving." It was somewhat of a tradition ever since she became Roy's subordinate, that they would all go out to a bar and welcome their newest member. All of them had gotten it and Roy was set on keeping this tradition even if he was the Fuhrer.

"So is that a new gun?" Roy insisted, once again, on the new rifle she was holding.

"Yes, First Lieutenant Burton showed it to me. It was still brand new." She lifted it up for him to see. He took it and tested it out in his hands.

"Hm, seems like a very good one too."

"Of course, sir. It's the newest model. Everything about it is perfect. I think it's a custom-made one, since the colour is not one of the regular ones. The leather on the sides must've been added on too."

"Is it yours?"

"No. I don't know whose it is. I have to ask Burton." It was an expensive gun and it would probably take her two years saving up enough money to buy one, never mind a custom-made one. Riza looked down at the rifle in Roy's hands and frowned guiltily. "I shouldn't have tried it out. It was wrong of me."

Roy chuckled and handed it back to her. "Here, it's yours now. Under the Fuhrer's command," he said haughtily.

"Sir, you can't abuse your authority and just give other people's things away," Riza scowled at him and took the gun from his hands.

"I'm not. I got this rifle made for you." Roy smiled at her and grinned when he saw her surprised look.

"You what?" Riza stuttered.

"You heard me. This is my gift to you." He turned the gun around in her hands and pointed to the leather on the outside of the handle. There was an imprint on it and when she looked closer, it was the shape of a flying hawk with wings made of flames.

"But, sir, why? I didn't do anything to deserve a gift from you."

"Of course you did. If anyone deserves a gift from me, it's you. This is a small gift in exchange for ten years of loyalty, Hawkeye." He gave her a knowing look. "Please accept it."

Riza looked him in the eyes and saw the sincerity in them. She slowly looked back down at the black marvel and smiled. "Thank you, sir. I'll treasure it." She knew she couldn't deny him when he had that stubborn look on his face.

"Good. I'm glad you like it. I was afraid it wouldn't suit your taste. You don't know how long I sat down with Burton over there, looking through the catalogues."

"What? When did you do this? And when did you have the time?" Riza asked incredulously. She had been taking care of his schedule for the past few weeks and there was never an open time slot for him to come down here.

"That's a secret, Hawkeye," he said. But when he saw the look she gave him, he gulped and told her the truth. "Ok, ok. The meetings with some of the generals were fake. I was coming here the whole time. It was hard finding time that fitted for the both of us. After ordering and receiving it, we only had to wait for you to come down here to try it out. But since you were so busy and never seemed to have enough time to pass by, I requested two new assistants to take some of the load off your back." Roy smiled innocently, while Riza was fighting a storm inside of her.

"I can't believe you did all that without me knowing."

"I know. I don't even know how I did it. You have to give me credit for it. I was sure you had suspicions about it, but you never asked me anything." Any other day before Roy had become the Fuhrer, Riza would have figured it out the first day. But ever since he had ascended, she had too many things going on at the same time and that had made her less aware of some things, like this plan of his. _It's true. I haven't been focusing enough._ _I guess we should thank really Brandt and Royce with a welcoming party._

"I'll make good use of it, sir. I can wake you up with it when you're sleeping on the job." Riza smirked when she saw him cringe.

"Please don't. The sound of it is scary enough as it is. I don't need the bullet flying at me too. Just keep it locked away here."

After putting her new rifle back into its case and closing it securely, she went to put back her old one on the rack and locked it. When she was heading towards the women's locker room, but stopped to give some last words of encouragement to the other soldiers. "Keep up with the training. I'll pass by another time and I might be able to give some tips to each of you individually. Take advantage of this training period to practice as much as you can, because you won't have so much free time in the future." She nodded at them and continued on her way, but before she reached the door, she saw Roy smirk and nod at them with approval. That simple gesture was enough to brighten the young faces and give them the energy to resume their practice. Her eyes locked with Patrick and she saw him wink at her, which made her smile. _You cunning old fox. You helped him plot all of this._

"Sir, I just need to put this away and get my jacket."

"Sure. I'll wait by the entrance with my _lovely_ bodyguards," he answered with a sarcastic tone.

* * *

The choice of bar was decided by Havoc and Breda, who made the effort to find a high class exclusive bar for VIP members only. Since Roy was now the Fuhrer, they couldn't just casually walk into any bar like they used to in the past. The bar was called 71 and they were more than eager to welcome the Fuhrer. One half of it was a casual lounge/bar, while the other half was a hostess bar, who boasted of having Central's most beautiful hostesses. _No wonder Havoc wants to go there. I bet he's hoping to bring a girl home tonight, even though hostesses don't normally sleep with their customers._ The idea of ending up being surrounded by sultry women did not make Riza all too excited, but she still decided to come at least for a short while.

They went in two cars: Roy, Riza, Havoc and Falman in one car; Breda, Fuery, Royce and Brandt in the other. Their two cars were sandwiched by three other military issued cars, one in front and two in the back, carrying Roy's personal bodyguards that followed him everywhere, much to his displeasure. This exclusive bar was at the second floor of a magnificently modern building, where the first floor served as a nightclub. Luckily, by the time they got there it was near eight o'clock and the club hadn't yet opened, allowing them to go upstairs without having to suffer the screams of young women when they saw Roy.

When the doorman saw them come up, he immediately moved to open the door for them, eagerly ushering them in. Once in the threshold, a man rushed towards them with a huge smile plastered on his face. He looked close to his fifties, with greying hair and a thick moustache and beard that was closely trimmed. He donned a dark shinny blue suit and shinny black shoes. _By the way he dresses, he must be the manager._ Riza couldn't help but the wary of this foreign place and scanned the room quickly, looking for anything suspicious.

"Fuhrer Mustang! It's my greatest pleasure and honor to have you here tonight! My name is Fabrice Joricho and I'm the manager of bar 71. I'm positive you won't be disappointed by your experience here tonight. In fact, I have prepared you the best of our hostesses and they are more than willing to help entertain you and your men tonight," said the older man, clasping his hands and rubbing them together. He gave Roy an all too suggestive smile, which made her want to glare at him. _Is this a hostess bar or some kind of undercover brothel? Then again, people would do almost anything to get Roy's attention and favor._ She had always dreaded situations like these and hoped that Roy wasn't as stupid as to succumb to them. It would make her job protecting him a whole lot more complicated, especially if it was against other people, or women, that Roy didn't exactly consider as a threat.

As Riza glance towards her right, where the hostess bar was located, she could see some heads poking past the wall. They all had hairs of different colours and faces full of makeup. Their eyes showed their excitement and giddiness. She could hear them trying to muffle their squeals and laughter. On their side, she saw the men smiling to themselves, stealing looks at the girls, anxious to let themselves be pampered by them. Riza resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"Thank you Fabrice, but I'm afraid we're just here for the lounge tonight. The hostess bar will have to wait for another time. We have a lady with us tonight and it is no place to bring her," Roy gave him a look that left no space for arguments. Riza was surprised by Roy's decision. She would've thought he'd be the first to jump at the sight of these beautiful girls. Havoc and Breda's mouths were agape, but no words came out.

"Sir, I don't mind going to the hostess bar if all of the others want to go there. I can just get a drink and wait-" Riza tried protesting, feeling bad for being the sole reason to everyone's dismal mood.

"No Hawkeye. We won't go. Our tradition is to welcome the new members as a whole team and you're as part of it as any one of us. I'm not going to bring you to a place that'll make you uncomfortable." _He knows me too well._ "Anyways, our plan for tonight was to eat and drink. The girls can wait for another time, right men?" All of them nodded their heads at her, giving her a reassuring smile.

"Thank you, sir." she bowed her head slightly, thankful she wouldn't actually be force to go in there.

That night, they drank and ate like young teenagers. Riza couldn't exactly remember how many glasses of beer each of them had, but they all ended up drunk except for her. They had started with a nice red wine, paid by the Fuhrer of course, but Havoc insisted that they get hammered that night, so he ordered all kinds of drinks and everyone drank like it was their last day on earth. There was also a lot of food and appetizers and they all stuffed themselves to their max. Riza was feeling tipsy, but was nowhere as drunk as the other men. They were all laughing hysterically at anything and everything, especially at the two new members and at Fuery, since he had never been a heavy drinker.

Despite his low-key, quiet and serious demeanor at work, Michael was wild when he was drunk, screaming, laughing and telling jokes, which surprised everyone. Thomas, on the other hand, didn't change that much and he seemed to have a pretty high tolerance to alcohol. _Thank god it's a Saturday tomorrow. I can't even imagine how it would be with all of them having hangovers the next day._ Riza had only had her glass of wine and three whiskeys. She has always had a good tolerance to alcohol, but she never abused it. It allowed her to take some strong drinks, which she definitely preferred over beer.

"To Fuhrer Roy Mustang!" Havoc managed to cry out, his cup shaking in his hand and alcohol dripping over the edge. They all raised their glasses to share the toast and drank deeply.

Roy had drank a little too much and was having a hard time sitting up straight. He was leaning against the back of the bench, but always fell sideways to lean on Riza. At one point, it was getting a bit too heavy for her to support and she had to push him back up.

"Sir, we should call it a night. You can barely stay awake," she told him as she struggled to keep him up straight. _Thank god his bodyguards are here. I don't think I'd be able to get him home in this state. _Roy grunted at her and nodded absentmindedly.

"Boys," he said gruffly, "it's getting late. Let's go home." He stood up clumsily and Riza was immediately beside him, holding on to his arm to keep him from swaying too much. He walked to the front desk to pay for everything. Fumbling through his wallet, he was having difficulty taking out his money, so Riza helped him.

"Thanks Hawkeye," he grinned sheepishly. Riza could tell he was trying very hard to stay steady and not seem too drunk.

She half lead, half dragged him carefully and slowly down the stairs and into his awaiting car and chauffeur. She looked back to see the rest of the men stumbling down, getting some help from Roy's bodyguards, and getting into the closest cars they could reach.

"Can you drive them back home safely?" she asked the chauffeurs of the other cars. They nodded and saluted her. Riza went in to sit beside Roy and noticed he was already sleeping. He was leaning heavily against the door and had his arms crossed. If she hadn't known he was drunk, she would've thought he was simply taking a nap. Riza asked the chauffeur to bring him home.

Roy was to move into King Bradley's mansion after he became Fuhrer, but he insisted that it'd be renovated and changed to fit his taste. It would take the construction team another month or two and in the mean time, he was living in a luxurious apartment.

When they arrived, Riza was about to get out of the car when one of the Fuhrer's guards at the apartment stopped her and told her they'd be able to get him back to his room safely. Riza thanked the man and sat back down comfortably. Roy was already half asleep on his feet and could only mumble a goodnight at her.

The chauffeur brought her back to her own quarters, where she fed her dog, took a quick shower and plopped into her own bed, with Hayate lying down beside her. _Thank goodness it's the weekend._ She was exhausted and extremely glad she could sleep in a bit tomorrow morning.

* * *

When she went back to work on Monday, it took a whole morning for the men to stop talking and laughing at each other about the other night. In the afternoon, everyone started being productive and got down to work quickly since the Fuhrer's one month ascension to power celebration was coming up fast. This event needed a lot of work put into it to properly organize it and make sure everything was secure. It was mostly an event that pleased the higher ups and gave the soldiers a reason to drink and chat. The important and high ranking people in the military were all invited to the event. It was to be similar to a ball, where people could invite their families and partners to dance and drink and eat.

Another important fact was that most people would come with the goal to impress Roy and show their daughters and younger female family members, in the hopes of catching the Fuhrer's attention. Roy was still single as a matter of fact and everyone was more than eager to create a bond with him by marriage. Everyone in the team knew that this fact annoyed him to no ends and he would always complain to them in private about the 'old men throwing women at him'. In front of these 'old men', he would act properly and polite, but never showed interest in any of their offers.

"Sir, you have so many to pick from and I'm sure anyone would throw their arms around you without a second thought. I wish I had women who were crazy over me." Havoc was complaining loudly one day.

"Havoc, unlike you, I've never had trouble finding a female friend. Being the Fuhrer has only made it easier. But I don't want to be forced to pick someone when I'm not into them. I like to pick up ladies when I'm in my mood and when I do it on my own, not with the help of some crazy, desperate parent." Roy replied smugly with his smirk, knowing it was going to annoy his subordinate.

The last week came quickly and Riza was busy running around, meeting people, assigning roles to other soldiers, picking the guards that would work that night and finishing up with the preparations. For the past two weeks, she hadn't met Roy many times since he was also travelling and going to meeting in other places. When she had some rare free time, she would visit the range quickly to unload some stress with her new rifle and watch over some of the practices.

Two days before the ball, she met Roy in the office when she was coming back from a short lunch break. Roy had just put on his coat and looked like he was about to leave again. Looking up, he seemed relieved to see her and smiled tiredly at her.

"Hawkeye, I hope you're getting enough sleep these days. I know I'm not." Roy sighed and rubbed his eyes a bit. _I'm just the same as you, sir._

"Sir, are you going to another meeting?" she asked him, ignoring his own question.

"Yes. I'm not exactly sure where it is, but Royce and Brandt have it under control. I just have to sit in the car. They also went to get me something to eat." Roy looked haggard and exhausted, but he hid it well.

"Sir, no matter how busy you are, you should always eat your meals and sleep whenever you can," Riza warned him. She knew all too well of his bad habits and knew that if he was left alone, he would forget to eat. That was why she gave the two assistants strict orders to make sure that he'd eat properly.

"Hm, I know. Don't worry about sleep though. I do it whenever I can," he grinned crookedly at her. "By the way, what are you doing for the ball? Are you coming?"

"I am, but as head of security," Riza replied curtly. With the success and orderly process of the inauguration ceremony one month ago, the generals had all agreed that Riza should be the one in charge of the security team for that night. Riza didn't complain. She like knowing that Roy was safe and the only way to assure that was taking charge. However, the fact that she could not attend the real event also disappointed her. She would have to be in full uniform since she would technically be on duty and there was no way she would waltz in there dressed like that when all the other women would be dressed in beautiful gowns and their best dresses.

"Oh I see. It's too bad I won't be able to have a dance with you." _Is he... sad?_

"I'm sorry, sir. I'm sure there will be plenty of other women who would be honored to dance with you." _Women who are attracted to your looks, reputation and money at least._

Roy's smile faltered, then faded. "I suppose you're right. You'll be watching my back from the shadows then?" he asked her, knowing the answer.

"Like always, sir." He nodded at her and left, closing the door softly behind him.

The next two days passed in a blur and it was at last the night of the ball. Riza stood near the entrance of the main building that was hosting the event. She noted the number of cars that came rolling by, all with their own personal chauffeurs who opened the doors for the passengers. These cars were not the military issued ones, but expensive and privately owned ones, by generals and high ranking officers. Men came dressed in their best suits, completed with polished shoes, while the women looked beautiful and dazzling in their dresses, with full makeup and fancy hairdos. The guests presented themselves to some officers in charge of the guest list and were ushered in, with an announcement of their names and titles, after they've been checked off the list.

Riza stood still, looking at all the guests and soldiers coming in, searching for suspicious characters. Before the night had even started, she had studied the whole area and building, knew every hallway and room, and even looked through the list of guests who were invited to the ball. However, even if Riza had an incredible memory, it was still impossible for her to memorize all the names and faces of the guests, since there was close to a thousand or more of them.

She was looking at the entrance, making sure the soldiers were keeping a good flow with the arriving guests, when she heard many gasps, squeals and even some screams. Alert, Riza turned her head sharply towards the driveway and was immediately relieved to see that no danger had presented itself. In fact, she found herself staring, like all the other women.

Roy came out of of his car, dressed in a black suit with satin lapels shinning with the building's lights. His hair was neatly combed and pulled back to give him a slick look. He wore a crisp white dress shirt underneath the suit, with a black and silver patterned vest, and a black bow-tie. His shoe was no less exquisite, showing off a shinny black. Riza noticed he was wearing white gloves, but not the one with his alchemy array. In fact, ever since the Promised Day, he hadn't needed any array to use alchemy. With just a clap of hands and a spark, he could produce the same flame alchemy.

Riza came out of her daze when his eyes locked on to hers. She gasped unnoticeably and fought a rising blush. Riza stood up straighter when she saw him coming towards her. However, Roy took no more than a dozen steps that he was intercepted by an older man, probably one of the many generals who were present tonight, with his wife and daughter. Roy looked noticeably displeased by the sudden interruption, but he didn't let his emotions take over the situation. He responsibly walked with them to the main entrance, giving one last look at Riza. Riza gave him a small smile and nodded at him. They could understand each other without having the need to speak. The look he gave her showed his regret of not being able to greet her properly, but she forgave him easily and told him to move on.

Realization hit her, after staring at his back for a few seconds, that he had come alone at the ball. He was unaccompanied and that alone gave a clear sign to all the single women who were present that he was available. Riza couldn't help but feel sad and lonely, despite having suppressed her feelings a long time ago. _You don't have the right to feel this way Riza,_ she scolded herself, _you're his subordinate and right-hand woman, sworn to protect him. You can't compete with the other women here._ Riza knew she could never win against the women Roy was attracted to. They were just too... different. She was a military women, disciplined and stoic, while the others were real women, beautiful and loving. Riza willed her eyes away and resumed her work.

Not long after, she spotted Havoc, Breda and Fuery coming out of a taxi and Falman, Royce and Brandt coming out of another one just behind it. Falman was the first one to see her and waved, getting the others' attention, who followed suite.

"Good evening Lieutenant Colonel. It's too bad you couldn't attend the party with us tonight," Fuery said and the rest nodded in agreement.

"It's all right. I chose to do this on my own. Did you guys all get together before coming here?" Riza asked.

"Yeah, we met up so we could all share two taxis. Unlike the Fuhrer, we don't make a crazy amount of salary," Breda chirped in and chuckled.

"Well, you guys better get going. I would've thought that you would all come earlier for an event such as this one, but it would seem that your tardiness knows no boundaries."

"Come on, we have to arrive fashionably late! When we go in, everyone will look at us and see the handsome me. I might have a chance picking up a girl like this," Havoc reasoned too seriously to be taken seriously.

"Come on Captain. We better get going before they start the night," Brandt said insistingly.

They all bid Riza goodnight and walked to the entrance. After they went in, she headed to the front and checked the guest list. Most of the guests were already present and it would only be a matter of time before the ball started. Riza walked around, checking every place the guards were stationed. When nothing was out of place, she made her way inside and walked quietly and unnoticed along the wall.

The night commenced with many speeches, like usual, and ended with a few of the Fuhrer's words. Everyone was seated around big round tables and they were soon served a full course french meal, which smelled delicious. _I should've eaten more before coming, then I wouldn't have to suffer so much,_ Riza regretted. Soft music filled the big room as a live orchestra was playing away. She watched diligently and overheard some of the women's idle talk, which mostly consisted of their shopping, of the latest fashion or of Roy Mustang. _They just can't wait to pounce on him when they get the chance __to._ Riza chose to ignore these conversations. Sometimes, she would have another soldier reporting from their watch outside, which, thankfully, was never bad news.

Roy was sitting at a table with nine other people, which included Havoc, Breda and Falman. The rest were two generals, with their wives and daughters. _It doesn't surprise me that they would all choose to bring a daughter instead of a son._ Since Fuery, Royce and Brandt were lower ranking officers, they sat at another table beside Roy's with some other soldiers and their partners. None of the men in their team brought a date, which almost surprised Riza. _Fuery is too shy around girls. Falman is too solemn. Havoc is too desperate. Breda cares more about eating._ Riza smiled to herself and chuckled. She was sure Havoc also came alone in hopes of meeting some high ranking officer's daughter.

She could hear some high pitched laughter emitting from the Fuhrer's table as the two young women, who were sitting closest to Roy, laughed out loud at something Roy had said. They were obviously trying to flirt with him in front of everyone and competing against one another. Roy was smiling pleasantly at them and having a good chat. From this distance, Riza couldn't tell if he was indeed truly enjoying himself, or if he was just putting up a show to be polite. Riza liked to think that he was annoyed with those two airheads, but she couldn't be sure about it. After all, Roy had always dated these sort of women or something close to that. The girls were always more desperate for him than the other way around.

After the dinner, the music grew louder and many people made their way to the dance floor. Roy was obliged to start the first dance and had asked one of the girls at his table, which made the other one turn green with envy. It wasn't long until he asked the second one for a dance to try to appease the tension between the two girls. Roy danced magnificently, with grace and dignity. All the women's eyes were on him and they waited anxiously for their turn to dance with him, but he could only dance with so many.

Feeling claustrophobic and overwhelmed by the glamour of the dance floor, Riza stepped out from the back of the ballroom, into an enclosed exterior garden. _Everything is just so pretty and perfect. Great. _Riza felt bitter and irritated. The garden wasn't the seclusion she had been looking for, but she was grateful for the silence and fresh air. No one was posted to watch this part of the building, she knew, and she relished her alone time under a starry sky. She found a bench and sat down, before letting out a long, soft sigh. She could hear the music from within softly drifting outside, without the giggles, laughter and constant chatter that had accompanied it inside. Riza closed her eyes and felt her body relax. She grew tired, very tired. _If only the night could end._

Riza was drifting in and out of sleep, but her body sat strait and still. She was drowsy, her mind was blurry, and soon, the music faded into the background. She dreamed of herself dressed up for the night. The look on the Fuhrer's face as he saw her and his hand extended to her for the first dance. In the dream, she dance elegantly, with grace and flowing motions, even if she knew that in real life she didn't know how to dance. _Riza, wake up from this silly dream. You're dozing off on duty!_

Riza suddenly jerked awake with a soft gasp and heard a stifled laughter beside her. _Oh no! Someone saw me._ Riza cringed at her unprofessionalism and the though of a person who had witnessed it. She turned her head sharply to her right with a stony, unreadable face, only to see Roy Mustang. He was sitting beside her on the bench turned towards her, with his left arm perched on the back rest, his left leg propped up comfortably on the seat while the other dangled on the side. His right hand covered his mouth as he miserably failed to hide his amusement. When their eyes locked, Riza's eyes widened in horror, while Roy lowered his hand quickly, pretending he hadn't been laughing even if his mouth was forcefully shut in a thin line and his eyes betrayed all of his efforts.

Riza stood up briskly and saluted. "Fuhrer, sir! I am ashamed you had to see me in that state a second time. I promise it won't happen a third time." Roy couldn't take it anymore and burst out laughing, making Riza scowl.

When he settled down, he signalled her to sit back down. "Hawkeye, you alone deserve to sleep whenever you want. I won't ever reprimand you for it." His eyes twinkled and he was drowned in another wave of laughter, but this time it was a lot quieter. "You should've seen your expression when you woke up. Priceless," he said, earning him a glare.

"Sir, you should have woken me up instead of letting me sleep on duty," Riza told him.

"But you were smiling and looked really happy, so I didn't want to wake you up from a good dream." Roy grinned at her innocently. _Oh god, kill me now! _Riza looked down to her hands, clenched into tight fists, and fought the heat rising to her head. She couldn't have been more embarrassed than she was now, sitting beside the dashing Fuhrer.

"Why are you out here sir?" Riza asked, abruptly changing the subject.

"I saw you come out, so I followed. It's nice having some fresh air and some peace and quiet for a change, although I'll have to go back in pretty soon." Roy frowned and pouted. Riza would be lying if she said she wasn't shocked that the Fuhrer had seen her go out. She had made sure to slip out unnoticed, but it would seem one man had still seen her flee.

"You seem pretty gloomy for a man who is surrounded by many beautiful and rich ladies. Havoc would be crying if he knew you were sulking here like this."

"Well, Havoc can have them all if he wants. I'm only doing my duty as the Fuhrer and dancing with them. They're not really after _me_. They want to be first lady of the country, that's all. They want power, fame and more money, and coincidentally, I have all of that. It gets tiring after a few hours of the same thing. This time again, you didn't come to save me." _It's not my place to intrude. _"You shouldn't have taken this job, Hawkeye. If you were beside me, I'm sure less girls would try to get my attention." _Yes, a perfect excuse to say no. A replacement, until you find the right one._

Roy huffed and said, "I should go back inside. I'm sure they're looking for me, hoping to share some important life stories or to introduce some daughter to me." Riza chuckled at his exasperation.

"It's your duty, sir. You are the Fuhrer."

Roy looked at her in the eye and she saw something in them, but she couldn't put her finger on it. Before she could figure it out, Roy suddenly stood up, Riza following suite. He smiled weakly at her. "You're right. I'll be going now. Good night, Lieutenant Colonel."

"Good night, sir" Riza watched him leave with a concerned look. _Sad, and lonely. He's not enjoying his night. _With that, she knew the answer to the question she had asked herself earlier. Roy was indeed faking his smiles and laughter. Riza knew he was never the type to gossip and fake politeness to people he found annoying. He wasn't fond of big events like these either. Unfortunately, his rank demanded a lot of this forced behavior and often put him in a sour mood, even if it didn't show on his face most times.

Soon, the guests were starting to leave one by one as the early morning hours rolled by. The older soldiers were the first to leave, then the drunker ones and finally the rest. Making sure everyone left safely, which meant assuring that no one would throw up on the carpet or fall down some stairs or start a fight with another drunkard, proved to be a much more challenging task than Riza thought.

After she watched the last person leave, she let shoulders drop heavily. She was exhausted and irritated and all she wanted to do was go home. She walked back inside to check who was still there and found some workers tidying up the ballroom, already busy storing away the chairs and tables. Her eyes searched for Roy, but she couldn't find him anywhere. _I haven't seen the others leave either. Where are they?_ After making sure none of the men or Roy were on site, she inquired one of the guards who was posted at the main entrance.

"I saw the Fuhrer and some other men leave in their cars. I don't know where they went though."

"What? When was this?" Riza asked briskly.

"Maybe ten minutes ago. They left a bit before the last guests left." The guard seemed to be backing away and shrinking in fear because of Riza's menacing glare. _Those idiots! How could they be so unprofessional and leave before everyone else!_

"Thanks for your help soldier. You can leave when everything is clear. I'll be going first, to make sure the Fuhrer got home safely." She stormed off, stomping with each step she took.

Riza found a phone and dialed Roy's home phone number. _Obviously no one picks up_, Riza thought annoyingly. She proceeded with calling the rest of the men of their team, only to be met with the same conclusion. She growled angrily. _They went somewhere else after this!_ Riza thought about the possible places they could've went and the one thing that popped up in her head was: bar 71.

When she arrived on the said street, she immediately praised herself for knowing the men she worked with. Right in front of the doors to the club/VIP bar on the second floor, two black shinny cars were parked on the side of the sidewalk. _Roy's cars._ She found a parking a little further down the street on the opposite side of the sidewalk.

The more she walked towards the entrance, the more she felt out of place. _This is worse than the ball._ There was a long line of people waiting to get into the club, all dressed in skimpy, slutty and extremely short dresses. When she stalked by the lane, she saw some of them staring at her and giggling between themselves out of the corner of her eyes. Coming up to the front, two big bouncers blocked her way and gave her mocking looks.

"If you want to get in, then you're gonna have to get dressed properly and wait like everyone else at the back of the line." He crossed his arms and looked down at her smugly.

"I'm not here for the club. I need to go up to bar 71 and get some men home." Riza said as calmly as she could.

"That's not gonna work lady. I've already heard that excuse a long time ago. Now get out of here before I make you!" The girls closest to the doors were laughing at the scene, which only helped to boost the man's ego. The other one was smirking at her in the same arrogant way. _I don't have time for this._

In a split second, Riza's hand flew out, clutched the front of his shirt in a tight fist and pulled him down towards her, while the other hand steadily pointed her gun to his forehead. All of a sudden, the girls, who were laughing a second ago, gasped and screamed, while the other bouncer uncrossed his arms and backed away a few steps, eyes wide with fear. Riza leaned close to the man's ear.

"I don't have the time to waste on you. You're going to let me go up there or I'm going to have to make you do it. Choose." Riza stared him in the eye, all the time maintaining the barrel of her gun on his forehead.

"I- I- I'm sorry. You can go," he stuttered in fear. Riza threw him harshly to the side and he fell onto the floor, knees easily buckling beneath him. Before going up, she gave a final icy glare to the other bouncer, you quickly averted his eyes to the floor.

Riza was at her wits' end as she stormed up the stairs and immediately turned right after entering the bar, ignoring the man who wanted to greet her. She looked right and left, but saw no sight of the men she was looking for. She spun on her heels and faced the host, who yelped, surprised she had suddenly turned with a murderous look in her eyes before he had even reached her.

"I'm looking for the Fuhrer and some men he brought with him. I know he's in here. Where is he?"

"I- I can't tell you ma'am. Our customers' privacy is-"

"I don't care about your rules. I'm the Fuhrer's personal bodyguard and I need to find him now! If you don't tell me, I have the right to arrest you." _Actually, I don't, but I won't tell you that._

"Right this way ma'am," the man said without hesitation. _Now that's more like it_.

He brought her to the back, where there were some doors leading to private rooms. He lead her to the door farthest back and left her quickly. Riza wasted no time opening the door. What she found inside made her internal volcano erupt.

It was a large square room, with benches lined against the walls and a big table in the middle, full of food and drinks. _Too muck alcohol._ In the center, she found Roy with two beautiful, busty girls in his arms. Havoc, Breda, Falman and even Fuery and the two new guys were there. She couldn't believe the sight she was seeing. _A bunch of desperate, single, horny men._ There was at least two women for every man and they seemed more than happy to be entertaining them.

Riza walked to the front of the big table and cleared her throat. Roy was the first to notice her.

"Oh, Hawkeye, you're here. How did you find us?" There was a slur in his voice and she knew he was already drunk. He smiled at her stupidly and his eyes were unfocused.

"Sir, I'd advise you to go home now. It's already late and I think you've had enough to drink and enough women to entertain you for the night," she said as she tried to keep her voice steady. Truthfully, she wanted to scream and yell at them, but she knew better than to do that in public, not like she ever did that to anybody to begin with.

"Enough women for one night? There's never enough." Roy laughed and smiled to the girl in his right arm, whispering something to her, which made her giggle. Riza frowned, but didn't give up. She tried to redirect her attention to the other men in the room.

"Fuery, the night's over. You should head home."

"Huh? What?" Fuery looked around confused and only then did he see her for the first time. He too had drank too much and it didn't seem like he was fully aware of his surroundings. "But we just got here? I don't even know their names yet." He looked at the girls around him and they laughed at him and caressed his cheeks and hair. _Well, that didn't work._

"Hawkeye! Why are you here? You shouldn't be here. It's a man's place, not for you." Havoc blabbered loudly.

"Havoc. You're too drunk to know what you're talking about. I came all the way here to-"

"I don't know what I'm talking about? Of course I know what I'm talking about! You came here to get us out of here like you always do! We can never do anything like this or come to a place like this because you're always there. For once, we finally escaped you, but you just had to come bring us back." Havoc was now in a drunken angry rant and was pointing an unsteady finger at her.

Riza was too stunned to make a reply.

"Don't you ever think that we men want to go out with just us so we can do some stuff men do?" Havoc continued. "Stop babysitting us! We're grown men and we have our needs. You're not our mom!"

"What are _you_ talking about? I always let you guys go off without me! I know you guys have things you want to do and I've never stopped you from doing them!" Riza was starting to get angry at their drunken stupor. _And I always stay overtime to finish your work when you guys leave early to go drink!_

"Hawkeye, stop. Just go. We can handle ourselves just fine," Breda chimed in casually, too tired and drunk to lift his head properly. Riza stared incredulously at them. Fuery was busy talking nonsense with some girls, while Havoc was back to flirting, Breda was laughing at some unfunny jokes, Falman was passed out, Royce and Brandt were laughing and smiling stupidly with other girls. _This is impossible._

"Fuhrer. Please tell them to end this and go home. It's been a long night and you should all be-"

"Hawkeye," Roy's smile disappeared and he looked at her with an irritated and unfriendly look. "Havoc's right. We're grown men and we know what we're doing. We don't need you to tell us what to do." His gaze lingered on her for a few seconds, before he turned back to the girls in his arms. "Don't worry girls. This scary lady won't take me away from you. She can't babysit me forever now can she?" Riza heard him say quietly to them. They all giggled and laughed at her.

Riza stood tensely in the middle of the room, and stared at them stoically. None of them were paying her any attention, too submerged in their own fantasies. Slowly, she took a step back, then another. She turned her heels and walked towards the door. As she opened it, Thomas Brandt asked with a slurred voice, "What are you doing?"

"Leaving." Riza closed the door hard behind her.

As she walked slowly towards her car, she ruminated about the things they said to her. When she rethought about it, it had hurt more than it did when she had first heard it. She didn't know they had been thinking of her as a nuisance to their nightly activities. If she would've known, she wouldn't even have come to the welcoming party for the two new men the other night. _Clearly, they had really wanted to go in the hostess bar the other time, but couldn't because of me._

She was in a terrible mood and her chest felt stuffy. _I wish there was a bench._ She didn't even feel like walking to the car anymore. Roy's words were stuck in her mind, playing over and over again. _I can't babysit him forever and I can't take him away from those girls._ She knew he was right, she had always know this fact, but he gave the finishing blow when he had said it out loud. Riza felt her eyes prickle and tears threatening to form. She willed her mind and straitened herself out. _Riza, you don't feel anything for him. You can't have him. You can't tell him what to do. Just do your job and protect him._ For a second she felt that she was back in control, but the feeling quickly disappeared and was replaced by frustration.

_You can't even do your job right. How can you protect him when he doesn't want you near him?_ Riza was failing miserably at making herself feel better, so she decided to give up and go home. She continued walking down the sidewalk and saw two men laughing together who were walking towards her. _Aren't you two in a good mood, _she thought sarcastically.

She was about to cross the street, when she felt an arm lock itself around her neck, while another covered her mouth with a cloth. Riza was an expertly trained soldier and she instinctively held her breath the moment she saw his hand holding the white cloth coming towards her face. Her right hand quickly reached for her gun, but another hand grabbed it tightly before she could reach it. Her eyes widened and she cursed in her head. _There's two of them!_ She elbowed her attacker hard in his stomach and kicked his shins as hard as she could. He yelled in pain and loosened his grip around her neck, which allowed her to turn around a bit. But the moment she started turning, she felt a fist connect with her solar plexus and she gasped in pain. _Damn!_

That simple gasp had made her breathe in the product in the cloth and she saw her vision blur instantly. Suddenly, she fell to the ground, hitting the cement hard as she crashed down. She saw blurry feet shuffling around her and felt a sharp pain on her shoulder and the right side of her face before she blacked out.

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A.N.: Here's the latest chapter guys! The story will slowly develop itself, but I hope it intrigues some of you. It will get better, I promise. I don't update regularly because my schedule is always changing, but I'll try to do it when I can. Don't hate on Roy, lol. You'll learn more from him in the next chapter I think... See you next time. Please drop a review :) I appreciate it.

D


	3. Chapter 3

Here's the new chapter! I'll remind you guys that I don't update really regularly because I have a lot to do for school. But I'll try to update within a month... hahaha. One thing I will promise is that I will finish this story ;). Btw, the timeline of this story does not follow from one chapter to another. For example, one chapter could be the story of a one month time period, but the next one could be events happening in one day, or a week. I hope you enjoy this chapter :)

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**ROY**

Roy cursed out loud the moment he started waking up. His throat was dry, his body was cold and stiff, and his head was pounding fiercely with every heartbeat. Every movement sent a wave of pain through his brain, making him groan in despair. _What did I do last night?_ He had woken up in his own room, alone, fully clothed, minus his jacket. Painstakingly, he got off his bed and walked to the door, kicking his jacket aside on the floor. Nothing seemed to be out of place as he made his way to the kitchen, nor was there any stranger he might have mistakenly brought home.

By the time he had finally gotten himself a big glass of water, his whole head felt like it was about to explode and his body felt like it was on the verge of crumbling. Next, he dragged himself to the bathroom, where he shuffled through his medicine cabinet to look for some pain killers. He quickly popped two in his mouth and drank deeply. When he looked up, he cringed at the person he saw in the mirror. He looked exhausted, with bag under his eyes, and his hair was greasy and all over the place. His clothes were wrinkled and reeked of sweat, smoke and strong mixed perfumes. He undressed himself clumsily and took a long shower, as long as his thumping head would allow him. The hot water helped alleviate a bit of his headache, but it was still there. After thoroughly washing himself and satisfied with the way he smelled, he dried himself up with a clean towel and wrapped it around his waist before going back to his room. He slipped on a pair of boxers and fell onto his bed, crawling under the sheets.

The ball was on a Saturday, so he had one more day before Monday, when he would have to start working like a maniac for another week. However, ever since he had become the Fuhrer, even on the weekends, he would find himself doing something work-related. It was officially his first day off since his inauguration and he was immensely grateful for it. He moaned in pleasure into his pillow and cuddled deeper into his cozy bed. _I'm going to sleep all day today and no one's gonna stop me. _Roy was absolutely positive no one would be in any shape to want to work on a Sunday, especially after a long night of partying. He was sure everyone would be resting and getting ready for Monday. _Dreadful Monday._ As much as his body needed the rest, Roy found it hard to fall asleep and wound up thinking about his current position and his life.

Being the Fuhrer of Amestris was not an easy task. Roy had never been as busy as he was now and it certainly was a challenge for him to try to keep up with everything. _Who would've thought it possible for me to be more busy than I was in Ishbal._ A few weeks ago, he was complaining about his jam-packed schedule in Ishbal, but now he didn't even have the time to complain about it to Hawkeye and the men, no less greeting them every day like he used to. Most of the time he found himself following Royce and Brandt around, going to his meetings, visiting places and important people. So much was happening around him at such a fast pace that he barely even had the time to take a breather.

However, Roy was an expert procrastinator and master at evading work. You had no choice but to be at a master level when there was the Hawk's eyes watching over you. As much as he enjoyed teasing Hawkeye, the thought of getting caught escaping work as a Fuhrer frightened him. Now that he had an image and reputation to keep up, there was no space for stupid blunders. Knowing this fact, he always kept a full schedule to deceive his subordinates, but knew which time slot was a fake meeting and which one was real. With this strategy, he was able to leave without suspicion and meet with Hawkeye's first teacher, Patrick Burton, to choose a gift for her. It took them at least two two weeks to make a final decision, since they had other duties to attend to and could seldom meet in secret.

When Riza had finally passed by the range and _met_ her new gun, he was inwardly jumping with joy when he heard how attached she was the moment she had laid her eyes upon it. Roy knew a gun was a personal item, especially to Riza Hawkeye, who was an expert in the field. That was why he sought out another expert, who also happened to know Riza well, to help him choose one that would suit her the best. Being the Fuhrer, he had no trouble getting it custom made and finding the money to pay for it. There was no way he could ever give her anything that could be equivalent to everything she has ever given him. Her time, her loyalty, her hard work, her entire life, were definitely not something he could casually compensate her for. Nevertheless, he felt obliged to, at the very least, try to give her something in return that could be useful and something that she truly liked.

Other than those free times he secretly inserted, the only times of the day that he could relax a little bit were during lunch, when they were travelling and at night in his own apartment. But even then, he used those rare moments to catch up on his sleep and had no time to think. Sometimes, he was thankful he didn't have the time to think about other things, because he knew his mind would always wander and end up on the same person every single time. _Riza Hawkeye_.

Roy sighed and groaned in frustration. For as long as he could remember, Roy had always liked Riza more than a friend, but he would never admit it to anyone, not even himself. But he knew. He knew deep down that he loved her, that he cherished her more than he should and that he needed her more than anyone in the world. Nevertheless, he couldn't say it. He couldn't even say the words in his head, because he knew it would lead to nothing and that would only make him more depressed. Riza saw him as her leader, as her commanding officer, as her good friend, hell, maybe as her best friend, but nothing more. She had never shown any more interest in him than that and there was no way in hell he was ever going to ruin their relationship by insinuating anything more with her.

He liked, no, loved everything about her. From her serious face at work, her crisp and clean uniform, her bright yellow hair, her reddish brown eyes, the way she walked, how cool she looks when she shoots, her annoyed look when he does something bad, all the way to the rare smiles she gives him when they're alone, even the icy glares she sends him after he wakes up from a nap. Riza had become part of his everyday life and he couldn't ever have imagined going through the past ten years without her by his side. Secretly, he thought of her as his other half, his precious Queen.

On the surface, however, he kept his feelings tucked deep inside and played his part perfectly. Ever since they were young, Roy could remember some times where he had been a father figure to her, a brother and a friend. That was all he had allowed himself to be. For her, he became what she needed the most, but never any farther than a friend. He had forbidden himself from crossing that thin line, out of fear or lack of courage, he did not know. All he knew was that she never gave him any hint of wanting anything more than their current friendship.

When he had hugged her on the day of his inauguration, her reaction was nothing more than a fond, friendly smile, the one she reserved only for him. Normally, any girl that he hugged would become beet red, but Riza had not even the slightest hint of pink. Either she really didn't think of his that way or she was really good at hiding her emotions, but that, he would never know.

Roy rolled onto his back and stared gloomily at the ceiling. _What are you doing now Riza? _When he had found out no one had asked her to the ball yet, he had rejoiced at the opportunity, but his moment of joy didn't last too long as he soon learned that she was going as head of security. He knew all too well what the older men were plotting, introducing him to their daughters and other young ladies of their family. It was all expected and he wanted to have Riza beside him for moral support but also because he wouldn't need to pay so much attention to the other ladies if she was beside him. He was sure she would have been distracting enough to avert his attention to her, although not on purpose. She already did that on a daily basis at work, dressed in her military uniform. He couldn't even imagine how he could contain himself if he ever saw her in a dress. In the end, he just wanted her as a date for one night, but it seemed that even as a Fuhrer, he still couldn't get her to be his date.

Because of her concern for his safety, he had no choice but to face those geezers by himself and all those annoying hypocrites yesterday night. The two girls at his table were so intent on getting his attention that they would have been practically at each other's throats if it hadn't been for him sitting between them. He could barely eat two bites of his supper before he would have to answer one of their never ending questions, not to mention the questions of the parents. Dancing was even worse. By the end of the night, his feet felt like they were about to fall off. It was only after he spied Riza escaping by the back that he stole a short break from all the people inside.

Even now, as he thought of her sleeping face, he couldn't help but smile to himself. _I've never seen her with that expression. She was so cute._ She had seemed really happy and peaceful, and he definitely wasn't going to disturb her, not when he had the rare chance to see her so content and carefree. But, obviously, that lasted only a short moment before she woke up by herself. _Riza Hawkeye, the oh-so-disciplined soldier_. It had only gotten better when she realized what she had just done and her face had flushed for the first time. Oh how he had wanted to just grab her face and kiss her there and then. But instead, he laughed and tease her some more, the way he always did.

_It is your duty as the Fuhrer,_ she had said. It was true. Many people expected the impossible from him and he did his best to fulfill those expectations. He was, after all, the most powerful man in the country. But he was still human and prone to mistakes and selfish desires. _If I could wish for one thing, I would wish for her. But I won't, I can't._ He didn't want to put her in any difficult situations and ruin her chance of having a normal life with a normal family. If she became his wife, she would also become the nation's first lady and that would bring a lot of attention to her and their private life. The media, even his own generals, were putting pressure on him to find a partner. He was not getting any younger and he needed to put up an image. Being single made him look unstable and too young to bear the country's burdens according to the public. But no matter how many times and how long he thought about finding a suitable partner, in the end, he would always picture Riza Hawkeye beside him.

Roy slapped his forehead, shut his eyes and growled in frustration. He turned on his side, snuggled against his sheets and pillow and fell into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

Roy Mustang walking into the office ten minutes early on Monday. Since he had gotten a lot of sleep on Sunday, he had woken up by himself before his alarm clock and decided to come in early for once in his life. Roy raised his eyebrows in a pleasant surprise to see that he was the first one there. _Ha! I came before Hawkeye! I can't wait to see the look on everyone's faces when they come, especially her._ He snickered to himself and walked toward his adjoining office to get an early start of the day. It was a childish thing to be proud of, but for Roy Mustang, it was a feat.

One by one they all came walking in, some sluggishly, some full of energy. One thing for sure, the moment they saw him sitting in his chair, they all saluted and scrambled to their own desks. Brandt was the first one to arrive and immediately went to fetch the Fuhrer's paperwork. When Royce came in, he brewed some fresh coffee for him and offered some to everyone.

"I still have a headache!" Havoc complained loudly, taking a sip of his coffee.

"Didn't you sleep yesterday? That's what I did all day, and eat of course," Breda said. The others nodded in agreement. Havoc slumped down on his desk.

A few seconds later, his head suddenly shot up, making Fuery spill some of his coffee on himself. Havoc looked toward Riza's desk and a look of mischief came upon his face.

"Hawkeye's not here yet," he snickered. "I bet she has a hangover too, if not, she'd definitely be here."

"Havoc, Hawkeye didn't drink that night. She was in charge of security," Falman stated smartly.

"Oh yeah," a look of realization washed up on his face and his excitement went away. "Then why isn't she here yet? She's never been late for work before. It's already five past eight."

"She has a day off today." Everyone, including Roy, turned their heads toward Brandt.

"How do you know?" Roy asked.

"She told me the other day. She said she wanted to take a day off to rest after the ball was over," Brandt explained slowly, afraid he would anger the Fuhrer. Roy was, after all, staring very intently at him.

"Why did she tell you and not me?" Roy demanded.

"Because you weren't there, sir, and at that time everyone had already left for the day. I just happened to pass by the office to take my things and I saw her." Brandt's reply came out like a squeal.

It was true that Roy hadn't met her very often for the past two weeks, and when they did, they barely had the time to talk properly. "Alright. Thanks Brandt, at least we know she's alright."

Roy could already see the difference in workload after the ball had past. There were less meetings and places to go, but the paperwork was still about the same. That meant he could stay in the office longer, which also meant that he would be able to see more of Hawkeye. _It's a good thing she took a day off. She really needs to rest properly._

The day went by excruciatingly slow and Roy found it hard to focus on his paperwork. The other men seemed to agree with him, since their workload wasn't going down very fast. He was relieved to know that his day ended with a meeting.

The next day, Roy came in to work on time, expecting to be greeted by his Lieutenant Colonel, but instead, he was greeted by all the other men. Hawkeye was no where in sight. _Maybe she went to get the paperwork._ He sat down in his chair and was sorting out some things on his desk when Havoc casually sauntered in.

"What is it Havoc?" Roy glanced at him annoyingly.

"Hawkeye didn't come yet," Havoc announced with an amused look.

"She's not here yet?" he asked with a serious face. It was abnormal for her to be late. Normally, she would notify someone if she had to take a sudden leave of absence or if she would be late, which almost never happened in the first place. "This is not funny Havoc. It might be something serious."

"It might or it might not be, sir. It's Hawkeye after all. I'm sure she has her reasons. I bet she'll be here any minute now, running into the office. Now, that would be a sight to see."

Roy showed his disagreement with a stern frown. "I'm going to give her a call later if she still hasn't come."

The minutes and the hours went by, but there was still no sign of Hawkeye. Roy stared at the clock in frustration. He wasn't mad at her, only concerned. He didn't like being kept in the dark, especially when it came to her. _It's almost noon. What is she doing? Maybe she's sick._ Roy picked up his phone and dialed her number. It rang once, twice, three times. _Why isn't she picking up?_ After six rings, he gave up and put the phone down.

For the rest of the day, Roy had trouble concentrating with his work and was constantly fidgeting. He could sense that the others were also aware of her absence and it affected them in one way or another. They would ask each other if one of them had any news from her from time to time even if they had all been in the same room all day. Roy called her another three times in the afternoon, but she never picked up her phone.

"Maybe she's sick and can't pick up the phone," Fuery suggested, hoping it would alleviate the Fuhrer's concern. However, it only made it worse and Roy glared at him.

"So sick that she can't answer the phone? Then she needs to go to the hospital! Who knows what she's doing or how she is right now. She might need help for all we know and we've done nothing about it all day."

"Calm down Fuhrer. I don't think she's sick. She looked fine to me the night of the ball. You know Hawkeye, she's the only one that never gets sick throughout the year. She's the toughest one out of all of us," Havoc reassured him.

"Yeah, I don't think it's anything serious. Maybe she wanted to go somewhere to relax yesterday and decided to stay there another day and forgot to tell us," Breda added.

"_Forgot_ to tell us? Now that's the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. We're talking about Hawkeye here. She wouldn't just casually miss a day of work or _forget_ to notify me for an extra day of rest." Roy was fuming and taking it out on them unintentionally. When he saw them cower at his raised voice, he felt guilty.

"I'm sorry for the sudden outburst. Maybe I am over-thinking things. Hawkeye's human too and she's also prone to mistakes. Maybe you guys are right. We'll wait till tomorrow to see if she'll come in. If not... then we'll look for her," Roy said calmly.

* * *

The next day, Roy came in early. _Not here._ He sat down at his desk, left his two doors wide open and stared at the doors of the adjacent room, waiting for her to come. Fuery was the first one to enter, early as well.

"Ah, good morning, sir," he glanced nervously at Riza's desk and added in a timid voice, "I don't think she'll be coming back any time soon, sir." That got Roy's full attention.

"Why do you say that Fuery? Have you heard from her?"

"Well, not directly. But this morning when I was exiting my apartment, Hayate was tied to the front of my door with a message tucked into his collar." Roy sprang up on his feet.

"What did she say? Do you have it with you?" Fuery nodded and took out a piece of paper from his pocket. Roy took the paper and read it.

_Fuery, _

_Please take care of Hayate for me. I'll be away for some time and I can't take him with me._

_Thank you,_

_Riza Hawkeye_

_P.S.: I'll pay you back for everything when I return._

Roy's eyes bore into the paper and he had to reread it three times to absorb everything. When he finished, he turned the paper over a few times, hoping to find more on the back, but it was left blank. He looked back to Fuery, who looked just as distraught as him. The letter was authentic and hand-written by her. Roy could recognize her elegant cursive handwriting anywhere.

"That's it? She just left you Black Hayate with a note and left?" Roy asked with disbelief. Fuery nodded once.

Roy slumped down on his chair and threw the piece of paper on his desk. He frowned at it and tried to ascertain what had just happened. After a few seconds of silence he spoke again.

"I can't believe she just did that. Why did she leave? And where did she go? This is so unlike her." Fuery chose not to answer, knowing Roy was probably just talking to himself.

They both silently went back to work, but it proved more of a challenge than anything. When Brandt and Royce arrived and reported to the Fuhrer, they gulped at the ominous vibe coming from him. Roy was definitely not in a good mood and he was glad no one inquired about it. His two assistants brought him his coffee and paperwork before leaving him alone to work. Behind his closed doors, he knew Fuery was busy explaining everything to the others.

He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. _Why didn't she pick up yesterday?_ _If she left Hayate in front of Fuery's door early this morning, it would mean that she was still there yesterday._ _But why didn't she pick up the phone all day yesterday?_ Maybe she deliberately ignored it, knowing it was probably him or one of the other men.

Roy glared at his paperwork. Normally, he would always understand her. He could read her feelings and emotions pretty well and could, most of the time, predict what she would do next. However, this leave really took him by surprise and he felt left behind. _She didn't tell me anything. No heads up, nothing._ Hell, he didn't even know why she left, if she was angry at him, if she was too tired of her work or any other reason.

He snatched the piece of paper she had written on from his desk and stared at it again. _I'll be away for some time._ He grunted with annoyance._ So much for information._

Roy did his best at work for the rest of the week. He always came to work on time, got his paperwork done on time, went to all his meetings and was the ideal Fuhrer. On the outside, it seemed like nothing had changed for him. He smirked to the ladies, smiled and talked idly with his generals, showed authority and charisma in meetings and presented the perfect image for the country. However, as the days passed by, he could feel himself becoming more and more sad, anxious, depressed and weary. He knew they were all connected to Hawkeye's disappearance and he was trying to keep these feelings at bay and to control them. It wasn't normal for the Fuhrer to be this upset over a subordinate who was away and he certainly was not about to show the whole world this weakness.

When the weekend finally came, decided to go see her apartment on his own. Being the Fuhrer, he had guards around him around the clock. He was never left alone, except in his home and when he dismissed them. This time, he took his personal car and drove by himself to her apartment. It was late afternoon and the streets were quiet in her area. He didn't want to be recognized by anyone, especially in front of his aide's home, who happened to be a woman. It would definitely lead to a huge scandal, so he didn't want to take a chance. He was dressed in civilian clothes, with a hat that covered his face when he looked down and a trench coat.

He looked around one more time to make sure no one was around before he stepped out and walked briskly to the entrance of the apartment building. _Crap! I don't have keys._ There were other doors in the inside that were locked, so only the residents of the building could go in. He looked to the side and saw the list of names of every resident, with a doorbell and the room number beside it. He spotted Riza's name and pressed the button. He waited a few seconds, then pressed it again. He could feel his heartbeat quickening and cold sweat on his palm. _What if she's there? I've never come to her place like this before. What would I say?_ In the end, no one answered. He decided to ring a random person's doorbell and hoped that person was in.

"Hello?" asked a voice.

"Hi, I forgot my keys inside, would you mind opening the door for me please?" Roy tried.

Without another word, the door buzzed and unlocked. He took the stairs and went up to the third floor. _316_. He looked at each door's number and made his way toward Riza's door. _316. _When he found it, he stood in front of the door, debating in his head whether he should knock or not._ I'm already here, might as well knock and what'll happen will happen._ So he knocked and waited.

A few seconds passed by in silence, but for him it felt like hours. His ears were focusing on any noise that might come from behind the doors, but he was distracted by the heartbeats that were drumming in his ears. After a few more tries, he concluded that she was truly gone. Roy was determined to get as much information as he could, so he descended to the ground floor and knocked on the door of the landlord. An old stumpy man answered the door.

"Yes? Can I help you?" he asked in a not-so-polite tone. Thankfully, he wasn't showing any sign of recognizing Roy.

"Hi, I'm a friend of miss Hawkeye on the third floor and I haven't been able to reach her for the past few days. I was just concerned about her and was wondering if you knew anything about it."

"Hawkeye?" the man rubbed his chin and was thinking deeply. "Third floor... Hawkeye... Oh yes! Miss Riza Hawkeye, she told me she was going to be away for a while and not to worry about it. She already sent me the money for the next few months' rent and she said she'd continue to pay for her apartment until she came back."

Roy's mouth was agape. _Did she plan all this?_ "When did she tell you this, sir?"

"Hmm, maybe a few days ago. She called me and told me all of this," he said.

_She called him? She couldn't even bother to give me a call?_ Roy was getting more and more confused and irritated. _I feel like I don't know her like I think I do._ He thanked the man before limping back to his car with heavy steps. He slumped into his car seat and stared into empty space. _She left without a word._

* * *

He walked in to work with a solemn face on Monday, ten minutes late, and found his team already present.

"Good morning everyone." He smiled at them, but his eyes betrayed his emotions. They knew he wasn't actually cheerful and they offered him a sympathetic smile. Hawkeye's desk was still empty. He decided to ignore it and walked past it to his private office. As he was opening the door, Brandt interrupted him.

"Umm, sir? I, well, I just remembered a few things from the night of the ball," Brandt said hesitatingly.

"Spit it out Brandt." Roy was not in the mood for any dilly-dally. He just wanted to get the day started and hopefully, distract himself enough to forget about Riza.

"When I was thinking back and trying to find a reason why the Lieutenant Colonel would leave, I remembered what she told me that night when she came to see us at bar 71," he looked around the room to see everyone staring at him. "She told me she was leaving... after everything we said. I mean, what Havoc, Breda, and... and you said, sir."

Suddenly, there was a loud clatter in the middle of the room. All the men's attention fell on Havoc, who had shot up from his chair, making it slam down on the floor. The look on his face showed disbelief and pain. _What's going on?_

"Are you sure? Are you sure it really happened? I- I thought I dreamed that. Oh god! I never meant to say those things to her. I thought it was some crazy dream! Oh no. Oh no." Havoc had his hands in his hair, pulling on them.

"Havoc!" Roy roared. He was angry and confused. He had no notion of what was going on and he couldn't recall anything from that night. When Roy got his attention, he said, "Tell me what happened, now."

Havoc seemed to hesitate and to debate within himself whether to speak or not, so Roy called his name harshly to urge him on.

"Well, like Brandt said, she came to see us at the hostess bar and I think she was trying to get us home. But... we didn't really listen. We sort of all ignored her and spoke to her... unpleasantly." Roy could see how Havoc was struggling with the story and how guilty and uncomfortable he felt. "I told her she didn't need to be there and that it was a man's place, and how we had to wait for a chance for her to leave us so we could go there. I also said that we didn't need her as a babysitter or a mom."

Havoc took a break to look at everyone and grimaced before he continued in a quieter voice, "I blamed her for not letting us have any fun. Then she got angry, but Breda told her to leave." Roy saw Breda limp in his chair from the corner of his eyes. "When she turned to you, sir, you also agreed with me. You said we didn't need her to tell us what to do. Then... you went back to flirt with the girls, and she left. I remember almost everything from that night, but in the beginning I thought it was a dream. I mean, I would never ever say anything like that to her. I love her like a sister! Oh god, what have I done." Havoc picked up his chair, slumped down on it and and buried his head in his hands.

Roy stood motionless, with a tense, expressionless face. _I don't believe this. How come I don't remember any of this?_ "Does anybody else remember about this?"

"I don't! I don't remember anything! Maybe it really was a dream," Falman cried out.

"Well, that night you were already passed out before she even arrived. That's why you don't remember anything," Brandt explained.

"I didn't pass out, but I don't remember any of that either!" Fuery squeaked out.

"I think you were mumbling to yourself or mumbling about crazy things. I don't think you were very aware of what was going on. It was the same thing with Royce. But Breda... I don't know. You seemed to be part of the conversation."

Breda was slumped deeply in his chair, sandwich forgotten on the table, looking down with a dejected face. "I always forget everything when I get really drunk. Sorry, I can't help."

Brandt turned back and looked at Roy with pity. "Sir, I'm sorry, but I wasn't sure if that was the reason, so I wanted to ask everyone about it. And-" Roy put a hand up for him to stop and walked into his office, closing the door behind him.

He sat down in his black leather chair behind his desk and stared into emptiness. His face showed no emotions. He sat like that for a few minutes, then, slowly clenched his jaw and fist. He slammed his right fist down on his big wooden desk and let out a cry of rage. He breathed hard and hung his head with his eyes closed. He couldn't remember doing or saying any of the things Havoc had said, but he remembered a flash of Riza's face. The one she showed right before she left. _I hurt her._ He could see it in his mind, how hurt she was behind the mask she was putting up, the emotionless face she reserved for moments where she wanted to hide her feelings. It was the face he wished he never had to see.

Roy buried his face in the palm of his hands and moaned in frustration. _I screwed up. _Now he would be haunted by the look on Riza Hawkeye's face.

* * *

A.N.: How was it guys? Getting interesting? Confused? Lol, so was Roy. It takes me time to write each chapter because I want to make them good and I have to make sure to add all the necessary details that will develop in the other chapters and link to things. You'll see, it's a web of things. I've never written like this before so I'm experimenting. Sorry if it sucks for some of you. I hope you'll continue to read it and don't forget to review!

D


	4. Chapter 4

**A.N.:** Thank you very much for the reviews everyone! I'm glad a lot of people like this story. I also find it to be the most interesting one I've written so far, even if it's not finished yet ;) Anyways, I'm sorry for making you guys wait so long, but I don't have that much time to write since school keeps me pretty busy. Enjoy!

* * *

**RIZA**

Riza could feel someone nudging her on the arm, but she was too tired to pay any attention to it. She just wanted to continue sleeping and her mind felt too fuzzy to think about anything at the moment. However, she was brutally woken up by a hard kick in the stomach. Riza gasped, coughed and bent over in pain, curling into a ball as best as she could to protect her against another one. She opened her eyes, face still contorted in pain, and saw two pairs of legs.

Riza's mind was quickly clearing up and becoming aware of her surroundings. _Damn it. I got taken._ She was laying on a cold concrete floor, her legs tied together and her wrists tied behind her back. She looked around her and noticed metal bars surrounding three sides of the room. _A prison cell?_ The air smelled stale, dusty and old. Everything looked old, like it was about to fall apart. _Must be abandoned._ There was an eerie silence about the whole place, with some water dripping somewhere, birds singing here and there, and the quiet breathing of her two captors.

She looked up and glared at the two men who stood expressionless over her, with a hint of annoyance in their eyes. The two men looked to be in their late thirties or early forties, but they didn't really have any distinguishing features that made them different from any normal person. Their looks were average, they both had short brown hair and dressed in cargo pants and t-shirts. However, one of them was bigger and taller than the other one and had burn scars on his left arm. The other one was skinnier, with a hooked nose and piercing blue eyes.

"It's about time you woke up. You were only supposed to be out for two hours, but you slept for four," the bigger man said.

Riza glared harder and asked, "What do you want from me?" Both of them looked at her with bored expressions and the skinny man answered her.

"You don't need to know that." He then glanced at the bigger one and signalled with his head toward her. The big man huffed, walked to her and lifted her to her feet by her arm in one swift motion. Riza's head was spinning and her vision became a bit blurry. She had trouble keeping her balance and she staggered to the side a little before the man caught her arm again and steadied her. When her vision refocused, she saw the skinny man with a long dagger in his hand. Her eyes widened and she tried to pry herself free, but it proved to be futile since her hands and feet were tied and a big man was holding her still. _He's going to kill me!_

When he stood in front of her with his dagger between them, Riza growled and said with anger, "Do it fast." The man remained expressionless and it infuriated her that she couldn't read his face.

Suddenly, the man crouched and sliced the ropes that tied her feet. Riza blinked at him and stumbled a little as she steadied herself on her legs. However, the effects of the drugs left them numb and weak. When she tried to move, she felt her knees buckling, so she still relied on the big man's grip on her arm to stand up. When the skinny man stood back up, he slid the dagger back in its sheath behind his back and smirked mockingly at her. _That asshole!_

He then turned and walked out the door of the cell, with the big man dragging her along. She walked like a baby learning to walk for the first time, but every step became steadier and better than the last one. She looked around and tried to get as much information as she could, but there was nothing that could help her identify their location. They walked through a long concrete hallway with other identical cells aligning one side of the wall. Some of them looked alright, but most of them had their bars all rusted and broken. There were no windows so she couldn't tell what time of the day it was. Other than the few light bulbs on the ceiling that were working, there was no other source of light. Some parts of the hallway were dark while other parts were brighter and better kept. _Where the hell are we? Just an abandoned prison?_

"Where are we going?" She asked irritatingly. Riza didn't know whether they wanted to hurt her or if they were going to help her. Everything confused her. One moment they were kicking her, right after they were cutting her ropes.

The big man beside her tightened his grip on her arm, making her cringe, and grumbled, "Keep quite."

They twisted and turned in the hallways, but the further they went, the darker and dirtier it looked. The air smelled of mold and rot. It was humid and suffocating. When they came to a dead end, the skinny man procured some keys from his pocket and unlocked a big metal door. When he opened it, the doors cringed and foul air came drifting out. It was a small cell and pitch black. He drew his dagger again and, this time, cut the ropes that tied her hands. After sheathing the dagger, he motioned for her to go inside.

"Get in," the big man was pulling her toward the dark cell. _No way in hell am I going in there. I'll never get back out._

Riza punched the big man as hard as she could in the face, which made him lose his grip on her arm. She pried free and was about to turn and dash the other way, but before she could get far enough, the skinny man kicked her behind her knee, making her fall down. _Damn these stupid weak legs! When I need them the most, they're useless._

The big man was over her again with a furious face. His lip was broken and she could see the streak of blood after he had wiped it angrily. He pinned both of her hands behind her back with his right hand, before grabbing the back of her neck with his left. Without a word, he lifted her up, making Riza groan in pain. She had to scramble to her feet quickly before her arms popped out of her shoulders. She had tried to free her hands, but he had a death grip on them. He dragged her back to the entrance of the cell and this time, kicked her hard in the back the moment he let go of her arms. Riza flew in and crashed onto the concrete floor hard, banging her head against it. Before she could get back up, the door slammed shut and she heard the keys rattling.

Riza banged against the big metal door, "Let me out! What are you going to do with me?"

"The toilet works in there. You better use it because we won't be cleaning up after your shit and piss," the skinny man answered. Then they walked away.

"Wait! Don't leave! What are you going to do to me? Tell me! Who are you?" she screamed but they ignored her. She continued banging until the sound of their footsteps disappeared.

She was left in the eerie silence of the black cell. The only source of light that she had was the light from the hallway passing through the cracks of the door and from the small still at the top of it. The ceiling was high, however, and it was impossible for her to look out of that slit. She felt her way around the room, fallowing the wall, and sat down against it. She closed her eyes and waited.

In the distance, she could hear some water dripping and some rats running around, but there was no sound of human activity. The air was awful and it made her want to gag. It was a mix of mold, rotten meat and something close to vomit. _Just get used to it, then you won't even smell it anymore. I don't think they'll keep me in here for that long anyways. _She felt something warm on her forehead and cheek and felt it with her hand. It was wet and hot. _Blood._ She felt around, looking for the gash and found it on her forehead, close to her hairline. The blood had already stopped flowing and clotted. _Good, it's not too deep._

She opened her eyes again after they had accustomed to the dark and looked around the cell. It was about three meters in length and two in width. _Not that small. I was expecting worse. _The toilet seat was connected to the back wall, with a strong stench oozing out from it. _I'm not sure it works. They should've given me some toilet paper too,_ she scoffed inwardly.

Now that she could see around the room, it didn't appear so dark after all. The light coming in from the hallway was bright enough for the small cell. The walls weren't in as a bad of a condition as the other cells they had passed by, but they were still very far from good condition.

Sitting on the floor was making her shiver. The floor and walls were cement and there was definitely no heating in this building, making the whole room feel like a giant fridge. Riza sat curled up in a ball and rubbed her bare arms. The two men had taken her jacket away, her shoulder holster with the two guns, her belt, her other gun at the hip and her boots. _Smart asses._ They had taken every article of clothing that she had hidden some weapons and now she was left weaponless and freezing. _Not defenseless though. _In a corner, she spotted a heap and crawled toward it to see what it was. Upon touching it, she knew it was a blanket, an old, wiry and ripped blanket, but a blanket nonetheless.

Riza wrapped it around herself and immediately regretted it. A foul smell emitted from the thin blanket, making her wrinkle her nose in disgust. Riza breathed away for a bit, but willed herself back to the blanket and snuggled deeper into it. _Either bear the smell or die freezing._

Riza was too tired to think of anything and too cold to move. _They'll come back in a few hours. I should sleep and get my strength back before then. _And so she fell into a fitful sleep in a corner of the cell, cuddled into the sad excuse of a blanket as best as she could.

* * *

Riza woke up to the soft echos of footsteps approaching. She tried to bolt up, but staggered to the side, clutching the wall for support. Her members were all stiff and frozen, but her head was clear and alert. She leapt to the metal door and banged on it.

"Over here!" She yelled as loud as she could and continued banging. "Help me! Open the door!" The footsteps were getting closer and closer. _It's working. Someone's coming!_

She continued making noise until she was sure the person knew where she was. Riza didn't know whether it would be someone who could help her or one of her captors, but she had to try to get someone to come if she wanted to have a chance to escape. _How many hours have I been here?_

The footsteps stopped in front of the door, but no one spoke. _What's going on?_

"Hello? I know you're in front of the door. Can you try to open it?" she tried asking. But instead of a reply, she saw a small metal tube slip through the slit at the top of the door. _What is he doing?_ Before she could say anything else, she heard a soft constant hiss and her eyes widened as she stared at the tube. _Shit!_

She backed away quickly and tried to cover her nose and mouth as best as she could.

"What are you doing? Let me out!" _It's too high to reach. _Riza groaned and cursed in her head before she succumbed to sleep.

* * *

Cold water splashed on her face as she was forcefully woken up. She coughed and spat out the water from her mouth and nose, trying to get a good breath of air. Like last time, she was in a daze, everything seemed to be spinning around and her head was throbbing. _Uhh, what now?_ She was lying on the floor, her hands and feet untied. She saw two figures and confirmed they were the same two as before when her vision started to clear up.

They were in a cell similar to the one she had first woken up in, with metal bars all around and a concrete wall in the back. This time, however, she saw a man sitting on a chair on the other side of the bars, staring at her hardly.

"Are you their leader? What do you want from me?" Riza was the first to speak. None of them moved. The two guys she had already seen were clearly waiting for instructions. The man on the other side shifted in his seat, making himself comfortable, but said nothing.

Riza was losing patience and had to make an effort to keep herself from growling. She didn't want them to know how their silence was affecting her. She stared at him with a look that matched his intensity and waited, refusing to lose. Finally, the man spoke in a deep tenor voice.

"You will write a note to Kain Fuery asking him to take car of your dog," he started, "Tell him you'll be away for some time. Make it short and believable. Don't try to write anything more or try to pass on a secret message because it won't reach him."

Riza glared at him. _He knows about all of us. I have to be careful with what I say. _"Why do I have to write that? Tell me what you want from me? Who are you?"

"It's not the time for you to know yet. Now, I need you to write that note." He signalled to the skinny guy, who he dragged a small desk and a chair from the corner of the cell, which she hadn't even noticed was there, and put a nice sheet of paper and a pen on the table. "Look, we even prepared you a nice little table and chair for you to write your note," he said sarcastically.

Riza stayed where she was, on the ground and looked quickly to the two other men. _If I wasn't so drowsy, I could probably take these two on, but-_

"Don't even try Riza Hawkeye. Do you take us for fools? We know what you're capable of and we won't let it happen a second time. We gave you a stronger drug that's going to keep you weak for a while. Now get up and write that note," he said with a calm, cold voice.

"You cowards! I won't write your damn note!" _As if I'd do something like that. I'll take on whatever they throw at me. I'm sure when the others find out that I'm missing, they'll have a search party._

"Caution is not cowardice. Miss Hawkeye, I do not think you understand me. You do not have a choice in this. You will write that note and do other things we require from you in the future or there will be grave consequences." Seeing that Riza was as stubborn as ever and unmoving, he continued. "I bet you're thinking you can take on anything we do to you and just wait until the others notice your disappearance. Well, you're certainly wrong on that. The consequences won't be falling on you but on your precious teammates. We have someone in there, working for us and giving us all the information we need. We know their routines and their homes, and much more than you can even imagine. If you don't do as you're told, I can't assure you that your precious Fuhrer will be in one piece when you go back, if you ever do anyways. Now, if I was in your position, I would rather chose to write a simple note than to risk my friends' lives. Don't you agree?"

Riza stared at him, fury in her eyes. This man knew much more than she thought he did. He knew exactly what to threaten her with and she hated him for it. Grudgingly, she climbed onto the chair and did the best she could to write a neat and simple note. When she finished, she looked up at the skinny man, who took it from her and handed it to the other man sitting on the other side. He looked at it and nodded with satisfaction.

"That'll do." He got up from his chair and started walking away. The other two men in the cell opened the small gate on the side and followed him, locking the gate behind them.

Riza got up quickly and stumbled to the metal bars. "Wait! Are you just going to leave me here?" she asked, but they never bothered to turn around and answer her. They walked down a hall and turned right, out of her view.

Riza listened as the footsteps faded and sank back down on the chair. Unlike her dark cell, this one was lighted, but it was still bare of any windows. She held her head in her hands and sighed heavily. Because they had increased the concentration of the drug, she still felt lightheaded and had no doubt that it would continue for a few more minutes. Her limbs were numb and weak and she didn't have the energy to do anything.

She heard her stomach grumble and clutched it with a hand. It was only then that she realized how hungry she was. She felt nauseous and a new wave of discomfort came over her. Her mouth was parched and she now felt the extent of her exhaustion.

Reluctantly, she got off the chair and went to sit on the floor, her back to the cement wall, facing the gate where her captors would come from.

She roused from her sleep when she heard some noise. Prying her eyes open, she realized she had slid down along the wall in her sleep and was lying on her side on the floor. She propped herself back up with her elbow and noticed the bigger man turning the corner at the end of the hallway where they had all left before. _Shit, I missed him._

Her eyes tailed to the foot of the metal bars at the front of the cell and saw a full cup of water and some bread. Unable to resist her hunger, she got up stiffly and went to take her little meal. _No wonder I didn't hear him. He just slid these past the bars._

Riza practically wolfed her piece of bread down and drank half of her water deeply, saving the other half for later in case they wouldn't give her any for a long time. Feeling a bit better, she went back to her spot at the back of the cell and sat down, carefully putting her cup down beside her. She tried staying awake, waiting and listening for someone or something, but sleep tugged at her until she decided to give in. _It's not like I can do anything else._

She woke up the next time, startled, to a terrible banging of metal on metal. Her head shot up, eyes wide open, blinking rapidly to ward off the traces of a deep sleep. Then she saw the three of them, outside her cell, with the skinny man holding a metal bar that was slung over his shoulder. He looked at her with a sneer, while the bigger man had a face full of contempt. Their 'leader' stood in the middle, staring at her with an unreadable look, although she could see traces of impatience. The bigger man on his left was holding a phone in his hands, with a very long cord.

The leader beckoned her closer with his hand. She stared at him intently, debating whether she should go or stay. Finally she complied, but not before gulping down all the water that she had left. She approached cautiously and stood a good meter away from the bars, far enough that she couldn't be grabbed through them.

"What is it now?" she asked sternly.

"You are going to call your landlord and tell him you'll be away for some time, but that you will continue paying your monthly rent," the leader said, wasting no time.

"Are you- are you kidding me?" Riza asked baffled and angry. "You want me to stage my own disappearance?"

The leader squinted his eyes in a menacing look. "Don't make me repeat the same thing I told you the other time. If you refuse, there will be consequences for your friends." He slowly picked up the receiver and walked toward her, extending his hand. His hand, with the receiver, stopped a good forty centimetres from his side of the bars and offered it to her.

Riza clenched her jaw hard, feeling angry and defeated, and tensely reached for the phone. She brought it back in the cell and stepped back to a safe distance, the long cord permitting her to do that.

"Now, you are going to say exactly what I told you to say. You are leaving for a while. Don't say where or why. You will continue to pay for your rent until you come back. That's it. If you try to say anything else or anything suspicious, it will end badly, very bad. Do you understand?" His cold eyes told her he was not joking. She gulped and nodded stiffly.

When he was dialing her landlord's phone number, her mind raged and tried to think of a possible way to tell him she had been kidnapped. Her hand clutched the phone tightly until her knuckles turned white, her palms were sweating and she could feel all her muscles becoming tense. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as she panicked inside, trying to think of a way out. The anxiety and her tired mind was not helping her stay as calm as she would've liked to be. _I can't risk it. What if he really does have people around the others and Roy? I can't risk it. S_he stared at the leader until he finished dialing and turned back to her, scrutinizing her every movement.

When she heard the ringing, her throat tightened with indecision. All the while she kept her eyes on the leader, as he did her. _What do I do? Do I try it?_ She resolved herself and was determined to tell the landlord of her situation the moment she had the chance to. _I can't underestimate the men. They'll have to take care of themselves for a bit so we can catch these people and find out what they're after._

The moment she heard the phone being picked up on the other side of the line, her eyes flicked to the phone base, making sure it was well connected to its wire. However, before she had the chance to utter a sound, the leader's hand flew to his left and slammed down on the base, hitting the button to disconnect the line. All of them stared at him, surprised by his sudden action. _Don't tell me..._

His face twisted with fury and he reached behind his back to take out a pistol. Without warning, he shot her in her left thigh, giving her no time to react. Riza cried out in pain, falling to the ground and dropping the receiver. She clenched her jaw hard, gritting her teeth to stop from screaming and covered her wound with both hands. The bullet had passed through her thigh cleanly, leaving her with two bleeding holes to hold pressure on.

"You bitch! I told you not to try anything. Don't try to fool me. I know how to read people and I knew full well what you were planning to do. If you try that again, the Fuhrer will die and so will his loyal dogs. I'll make sure you see their bodies before I kill you," he spat at her. Seeing her glare at him, hands clutching her leg and breathing hard through her teeth, he said with disgust, "Stop acting like you're dying. I purposefully avoided your bone so you wouldn't faint from the pain. I don't have the time to wait for you to wake up. Now pick up the receiver and we'll try this again. And speak normally."

This time, he watched her with his gun in his hand, making sure she knew how serious he was. When her landlord picked up and answered with a gruff voice, she forced herself to steady her own and to speak normally.

"Hello Mister Cooper, this is Riza Hawkeye from room 316." She waited for him to acknowledge her, then continued, "I just wanted to inform you that I will be away for some time, so don't worry if you don't see me for a while. I'll also be continuing to pay for my rent every month until I come back."

"Okay, no problem. Just make sure I get the money on time. If not, I'm throwing your things out and I'm renting it to someone else," he grumbled. Mister Cooper spoke roughly, but he was really a kind man when he wanted to be and Riza got along with him fine. _If only I could say more._

"Thank you. Goodbye Mister Cooper." Riza moved the receiver away from her ear after he hung up, hating the fact that she had just lost her only chance to communicate with someone outside about her predicament.

She dropped the receiver, smeared with her blood, and the big man pulled it by the cord out of the cell and placed it back on its base. The leader put his pistol away and gave her a final scornful look before turning around and walking down the hallway.

Riza growled and cried out in frustration. _I'm not getting any information!_ She was tired, hungry, thirsty and her thigh was burning and throbbing in pain. The flow of blood had slowed down, but she was already feeling the effect of her blood loss.

The gate to her cell opened and the big man pulled her up to her feet like last time, keeping a firm hold on her arm. She grunted in pain as pressure was put on her injured leg, but she held in any more sound that wanted to come out. The skinny man led them down another hallway and they walked her all the way back to the big metal door of her dark cell. By the time they arrived, Riza was soaked with cold sweat, her face was white, drained of any blood she had left. Her breathing was labored and she could barely keep herself up. Everything was blurry when they opened the metal door, but she recognized the darkness that greeted her.

The big man ushered her forward and she clumsily walked along. When she entered, she was overwhelmed by the feeling that she would be imprisoned here for a long time. It was only when the big man released his grip on her arm that she realized just how weak she was. She immediately collapsed on the floor, laying on her side, with no strength left in her to fight. _I just want to sleep, _she thought and watched the last bit of light being shut out as the big metal door banged shut, leaving her in the dark.

* * *

A.N.: Getting interesting? I hope you guys liked it. I'll try to update a little sooner for the next chapter. Please leave a review! Thanks :)

D


	5. Chapter 5

**A.N.:** Hey sorry for the long wait. Here's the new chapter.

* * *

**Havoc**

Havoc lazily strolled into the office on a Monday morning.

"Good morning Captain Havoc," Royce said diligently with a curt nod of the head.

"Yeah, good morning," he answered nonchalantly. His eyes flicked to the corner of the room closest to Roy's doors, only to dart back quickly before walking to his own desk.

It has been three weeks since Riza decided to leave them and they still haven't heard a single word from her. It would seem like this time she was serious about leaving and wanted to keep them from finding her. And if they all knew one thing about Hawkeye, it was the fact that she could make almost anything happen if she really wanted to. If Riza wanted to stay away from them for a while, then she would. _She probably knows that if the chief knew about her location, he would be on the first express train to get her back._

"Want one?" Breda asked, offering him a box of donuts the moment he sat down.

"No thanks," Havoc answered with a grimace, but when he remembered he hadn't had any breakfast because he had woken up late, he reconsidered, "actually, I'll take one. Thanks."

Havoc leaned back in his chair, stretched his legs, and slowly munched on his donut as he inspected the amount of work he had to get done today. Someone had already gotten their paperwork and had distributed everyone's share for the day. He knitted his brows together as he saw his pile and sighed. He hated doing paperwork and things haven't been going well in his life. Not only did he feel guilty for being one of the reasons Hawkeye disappeared on them, but the girl he was recently interested in had rejected him last week, making him feel even more depressed.

He had also taken Riza's tasks and responsibilities upon himself, which consisted of more paperwork and overseeing the whole training sector of the new recruits. _I don't know how she does it! I thought I could just pop up from time to time at the range or at the outdoor training grounds, but there's so much more to it._ Since Roy had become the Fuhrer, many sectors in the military have been undergoing reforms and reevaluations. Riza had much more work to do than any of them could have imagined and she seemed to have done it without an effort compared to them and their measly paperwork.

On top of taking care of the recruit training sector, she was also responsible of putting all the evaluation reports together for the Fuhrer to review before accepting or refusing. Furthermore, she was the Fuhrer's personal aide and had many other tasks that needed to get done. Just being informed about all the stuff he would need to do if he wanted to take her place was overwhelming. In the end, they all had to split up most of the tasks among themselves just to be able to keep up with everything, but Havoc got more responsibilities since he had already worked with her in some of the sectors.

"Havoc, are you alright? You don't look so good," asked a concerned Fuery, sitting across from him.

"No, Fuery, I'm not. I keep thinking of how Hawkeye got all of this done and I can't find an answer. I really don't understand how she could handle all of this. It's just crazy!"

"Some things are not meant to be understood Havoc," Breda snickered at him causing Havoc to glare back.

"Lieutenant Colonel Hawkeye always arrives to work on time and she works diligently, not getting distracted by anything. She uses her time efficiently and doesn't waste a second of it. She's a no-nonsense, hard-working and perfect soldier. That's what makes her different from all of us," Falman stated. The others just stared at him with bored expressions.

"Thanks Falman. I feel so much better now that I know we're all so inferior to her. It explains everything." Havoc sighed heavily. "I just want to cry sometimes when I think about coming to work these days." The last comment earned him a few snorts and chuckles.

Havoc got started on his paperwork and worked in silence for a good hour before he spoke again.

"Anyone heard from Hawkeye?" he asked quietly, making sure it was loud enough for the people in the room to hear, but not loud enough for Roy to hear through his doors. Looking around the room, he was answered with solemn shakes of the head and the sight of Riza's neat and empty desk.

Around eleven, he went to see the Fuhrer to give him the reports he had finished the day before and that morning. He entered the room when he heard a muffled sound after knocking. Closing the door behind him, he walked up to Roy's big desk and saluted briefly.

"Fuhrer, sir. I have some reports to give to you. They're mostly reports of the assessments made in different sectors." He handed them to Roy and continued standing in front of his desk.

If you looked closely, you could see that the Fuhrer was tired and not as clean as he should be. On most days you could see his stubble starting to form when he had forgotten to shave in the morning. His hair needed a trim and his uniform could use some professional ironing. _This is what happens when Hawkeye leaves us. No one notices these things until it's too late._ If it was Hawkeye, she would've already reprimanded him for skipping some days of shaving and looking the way he did. And for some reason, the Fuhrer would allow her to speak to him that way and he would even seem to enjoy it. If it would've been anyone else commenting on his looks and what he should look like, that said person would probably have a part of his body burned. _I don't even want to know how Hawkeye would react if she saw him right now. Not the best look for a Fuhrer, that's for sure. But I'm sure he wouldn't dare come back to work the next day looking like that again if she was here._

"Anything else Havoc?"Roy asked without interrupting his work.

"Everything is going well in Ishbal. There's still some things left to be done, but the major constructions are done. The economy is picking back up and more and more people are coming back to settle down, even some Amestrians. The reconstruction of Central after the Promised day was also finished late last week. The final report is in one of the folders I just handed over to you."

Roy nodded, finished writing his sentence, then looked up at him. "Thanks a lot Havoc. I really appreciate it." Seeing that Havoc had not moved an inch, his eyebrow shot up, urging him to speak.

"Well, I just noticed that you don't, well, you don't look too well sir. Are you getting enough sleep? And maybe you should clean yourself up a little, you know? Just to look a little cleaner and all..." Havoc spoke nervously. He didn't really want to be the one to tell the Fuhrer he looked like crap, but Hawkeye wasn't there and no one else would dare say that to him. He wasn't going to let people look down on their Fuhrer or judge him because of his looks.

In the middle of his speech, the Fuhrer had frowned and stared at him. _Uh oh, maybe I said too much. Hawkeye! Where are you?_

"Are you saying I need to look more presentable?" Roy looked down at himself, studying his uniform.

"Well, sorry to tell you so, but yeah, pretty much. You need a haircut and you should shave first thing tonight," Havoc gulped.

Roy sighed and leaned back into his chair. "You're right Havoc. Thanks for telling me. I haven't had the time to think about things like that. All I want to do when I get home these days is to shower and sleep. Usually I would get reminded about my looks by Hawkeye... but she's not here, so I tend to forget."

"It's alright, chief. You don't look that bad yet. I'm sure she'll be back soon, so just make sure to look proper when she comes back, if not she'll turn us all into Swiss cheese," Havoc grinned.

Roy groaned and smiled. "Alright, I get it. I look like crap. Just get out already! Get back to work!"

Havoc saluted with exaggerated motions before walking out of his office with a wide grin. He was glad he got Roy to loosen up even for a few seconds. Recently, it seemed like the Fuhrer was a workaholic, working long hours everyday. He was doing an amazing job at being Fuhrer, taking care of all the nation's problems, reforming the military and making Amestris a better country after its recent downfall. However, there is only so much a person can do before he or she burns out. That's why his team was trying to take some load off of his shoulders, allowing only the most important things for him to look over. They didn't want their Fuhrer to collapse from fatigue in the first few months.

The loss of their most efficient team member, Riza Hawkeye, was a really big blow for them. They were all disorganized and disoriented during the first two weeks, trying to figure out what they each had to do to keep up with the never ending work that was coming into the office. Even the two new members, Royce and Brandt, found themselves with more tasks to do than what was required from their positions.

The one who felt Riza's absence the most was, inevitably, Roy Mustang. She had always been the person standing on his right side, watching his back from the shadows, putting him in line when no one else would, giving him advice when he needed it most, but most of all, she was his moral support, his anchor. Havoc noticed how he would sometimes turn to his right when he needed something in a meeting, expecting her to be there with the file he was looking for. Somehow, she always knew what he needed and was always a step ahead of him.

When she had been absent in the first few days, before they knew she had decided to leave, Havoc had to keep himself from laughing each time he saw Roy's expression. _He's clearly in love with her. He's just denying it. _The Fuhrer looked like he had a loose screw somewhere that prevented him from working properly. His mind was always elsewhere, staring off into midair. Worry was plastered all over his face and he did a horrible job at hiding it, especially since Roy had asked him if he had any news from her every single day. However, near the end of the week, he was panicked and was sure something had happened to her. Even the others were starting to get worried. After all, it was so unlike her to be away for so long without telling them anything.

When Brandt had finally brought up the events of that night in the club, the office had a solemn ambiance for the next week. No one dared to speak to the Fuhrer. He was angry and had a very dark vibe around him. Everyone got their work done on time, without procrastinating, and everything was starting to get back in order. Near the end of the second week, Roy had seemed to cool down and was starting to be more talkative again. Although this time, he seemed tired and had a forlorn look in his eyes. People in the office didn't joke around like they did before. They were all busy with their work and there was always a depressive mood in the room accompanying the unfamiliar silence.

Havoc hoped every day that Hawkeye would come back and cheer everyone up, especially their Fuhrer with his longing glances at her desk.

* * *

At lunch time, they all headed down to the cafeteria, except Roy since he had his food delivered to him in his office. _He gets the fancy stuff, while we have to eat the cafeteria food. Well, today's chicken legs, so I guess it's not that bad._ Havoc always bought his lunches here since there was a girl he liked, but couldn't seem to get her interested in him.

Breda nudged him and whispered, "So, any luck with Emily yet?". He smirked and his eyes flickered to the girl behind the counter.

Havoc pouted and crossed his arms. "She's playing very hard to get, that's all."

"You mean she's playing _never going to get_." Breda laughed and so did the others who were waiting in line with them.

"Don't worry Captain Havoc. I'm sure you'll meet a nice girl soon who'll want to go out with you." Royce patted him on the shoulder and smiled sympathetically at him.

"No he won't. At least not anytime soon. He just got rejected last week," Breda informed them. They all looked at Havoc with pity.

"Would you just shut up! If I would've wanted everyone to know I would have announced it in the office, thank you very much!" Havoc growled in frustration. _He won't ever let me off of this!_

Luckily for him, they all got their food without any embarrassing comments in front of Emily. As they walked toward their usual table at the back of the cafeteria, some lower ranking officers nodded at them or saluted them briefly. Everyone knew the Fuhrer's direct subordinates and heard of their accomplishments.

"So, is everything going well with Black Hayate Second Lieutenant Fuery?" Royce asked after they'd seated themselves.

"Oh, no problem at all. He's really well trained, listens to everything I say and doesn't bark," Fuery smiled. Even though his new apartment was small, Hayate didn't seem to mind it, which made him glad. "But," he continued with a concerned face, "every night, all he does is look out the window. He even sleeps by it and wakes up whenever someone on the street passes by. I think he really misses Hawkeye. When I walk him, he always looks around at people and follows women who walk or look like Hawkeye until he realizes it's not her. Then, he gets all sad and I get sad watching him too!"

"Maybe she told him she'd be back to pick him up, so he's been waiting for her. You never know how smart that dog is. It's Hawkeye's after all. Who knows what she trained him to do," Havoc piped in.

"Maybe," said a deflated Fuery.

"I'm gonna give this to him right after lunch. He deserves it." Havoc pointed with his fork to one of his two plump chicken legs. Since Fuery didn't want to leave Hayate at home alone during the whole day, he would always bring him to HQ and tie him up outside. Hayate has practically become their mascot and almost everyone knew about him. And because Roy would sometimes go pet him and give him a little snack, no one ever dared complain about him, not that there was anything to complain about.

After lunch, Havoc made his way to the side entrance of HQ and crossed a grassy terrain to reach the training grounds for the new recruits. Since they didn't want poor Hayate to be bored all day, they decided it was best to tie him somewhere where there would be some entertainment for him. Usually, he would follow Hawkeye inside HQ wherever she went, but the first time Fuery brought him in, all he wanted to do was wander, probably to go search of his mistress.

As he spotted the big tree to which Hayate was tied on a long leash, he was surprised to find the Fuhrer crouched beside him, whispering something. _I shouldn't even be surprised anymore._ Roy often came during lunch time to feed Hayate or just to keep him company for awhile. Hidden by some bushes, people rarely saw the Fuhrer sitting beside the dog and talking to him like he was a human friend. Once, too curious, Havoc decided to spy on him, intent on eavesdropping on the one-sided conversation. However, what he heard only made him pity the both of them and from then on, he never approached them when the Fuhrer was around.

Havoc stood behind another large tree, waiting patiently until Roy was done. Only when he saw him pet the dog playfully and walk away, did he approach Hayate with his tasty treat. Hayate happily wagged his tail when he saw Havoc and began drooling when he smelled the chicken leg in his hand.

"Hey boy! You're still hungry even after the Fuhrer gave you some food? You spoiled dog," he smiled. Before giving him the meat, he asked him to do many tricks, which he did without error, earning himself a nice juicy chicken leg. _Wow, Hawkeye really trained him well. Better soldier than some of then news ones we've got recently._

Havoc sat down beside the dog, looking at the empty training grounds. _All out for lunch I bet._ He looked down beside him to find Hayate laying down and carefully chewing his bone. "Wow, you really devoured that one, did you boy?"

He carefully petted his back, slowly at first, afraid he would growl at him while he was chewing his bone. When he didn't seem to mind, Havoc relaxed and petted him absentmindedly. "Did he come to ask you where Hawkeye was again?" The moment when Havoc said his mistress' name, he stopped chewing and looked up at him hopefully.

"Sorry, boy. I don't know where she is either. We're all hoping for her to come back soon too." _Soon, or else the chief's gonna go crazy._ Whenever the office was empty and really quiet, he could often hear the muffled sound of a telephone being picked up, numbers dialed and after a long silence, the sound of the telephone being hung up, all form the other side of Roy's doors. _Poor man. I'd prefer to be dumped continuously than to be stuck in his position._

* * *

On Friday, Havoc walked into the office after lunch to find Fuery, Brandt and Royce huddle around a large box on the floor.

"What's that?" he asked out loud. They all turned around and Havoc saw the gleam in Fuery's eyes. _Great, must be some new machine, _he sighed inwardly. Nothing got Fuery more excited than some new tech gadget.

"It's the newest audio recorder system the military has developed!" Fuery exclaimed.

Havoc raised his eyebrows lazily, still looking disinterested. "And why is it here? Why would we need an audio recorder?" The three men were too engrossed in the new apparatus to bother answering him. Frustrated, Havoc decided to go closer to see what the hype was all about.

The said 'military's newest audio recorder system' was nothing more than a grey rectangular box the size of a dictionary, with buttons on the front and a power cord. _Nothing fancy about that..._

"Let's try it out!" Brandt said, almost as excited as Fuery. They brought the device to Brandt's desk, carefully placed it on the corner and plugged it in the closest outlet. Fuery played a bit with it before turning around to Havoc, who was still hovering around them, and said, "Havoc, try saying something." He flicked one of the switches and a red light came on.

"Jean Havoc is the sexiest man alive. Women fight over him all the time, but refuse to admit it."

When the recorder repeated the same thing back to them in Havoc's voice, they all exclaimed with glee.

"Whoa! This is an awesome machine!" It was now Havoc's turn to get excited. For the next twenty minutes, they all took turns recording stupid things and playing them over again. It only got more rowdy when the others came back from their lunch breaks and joined them in the fun.

"What are you guys doing?" They all halted and turned around slowly. Roy stood in doorway from the hall, back from wherever he was, and was staring at them sternly. _Uh oh, he's in a bad mood._ Lately, the Fuhrer was often easily ticked off and in bad moods. When that did happen, he would lock himself in his office and work non-stop.

Havoc felt someone nudge him before he spoke up. " We just received a new audio recorder and we were just testing it out. It seems to work just fine." Havoc gulped, hoping his answer was good enough. After a few seconds of silence, watching Roy's eyes go from him, to the others, to the recorder, then back to him, Roy took some steps closer to come see for himself.

Fuery explained to him how it worked and gave him a little demonstration. Afterwards, the Fuhrer asked, "And why do we need one of these?"

"Well, a few weeks ago Lieutenant Colonel Hawkeye just told me to order the smallest and newest one available for the office. She didn't tell me why though," Fuery said slowly. The mention of Hawkeye's name had caught Roy's attention. Although he tried to hide his surprise, Havoc didn't miss the slight twitch his eyes made as he stared at Fuery.

"I was the one who recommended it to her, sir." Brandt spoke up behind him. "Royce and I passed by the interrogation rooms one time when we had to go get some reports and we saw how they all recorded what everyone said to keep as records. I mentioned this to the Lieutenant Colonel and she liked the idea."

"Yes. She said we should also keep records of everyone that passes by the office to speak to you for security purposes. That way, we can always have proof for anything that was said in the office" Royce added.

Roy nodded and smirked. "Hawkeye thinks of everything." Everyone nodded in agreement. The recorder was to stay on Brandt's desk and he would be the one in charge of it.

The rest of the afternoon passed by rapidly as they all hurried to finish the last of the week's work before the weekend and Roy's two assistants were getting next week's schedule ready for the Fuhrer. Near the end of the day, Havoc's butt was numb from sitting on a wooden chair too long.

"Ahh, I can't feel my butt anymore!" he complained. He grabbed his last report and walked toward the long couch against the wall at the back of the room. When he flopped down, the legs wobbled and squeaked dangerously. Havoc's eyes widened with alert. He settled himself in slowly and relaxed once the deemed it safe to.

However, the sound of Roy's double doors opening made him jolt up and the sudden motion gave the finishing blow on the old couch.

"Ow!" Havoc yelped, as he fell on the floor. The two legs on the side he was sitting on had given way. Roy stood in front of his doors, looking down at him with a questioning look.

"Aw damn it! Margaret's broken! My butt was numb, so I just thought I would work on my last report on the couch." Havoc pouted and looked like a child that was going to get scolded, hoping he would get some pity from the Fuhrer.

All Roy did was sigh and he said, "Well, it's broken now. We'll get another one."

"What! We can't fix her? She's our Margaret. The first couch our team ever got. Her name was even chosen by Hawkeye herself!" Havoc protested. The other men, except for Brandt and Royce, nodded their heads vigorously. They were all attached to their couch and were reluctant to replace her.

"I know Havoc. Margaret was a good couch, but she can't be fixed. She's too old and broken. We don't need her anymore, so get rid of her. I'll get you a new and sexier one. So stop treating the couch like a human!"

After the Fuhrer left for the day, Havoc lingered there for a few more seconds. _I guess a new sexier one would be better. Sorry, Margaret. You were good to us. Rest in peace._ He went back to work at his desk and soon finished his last report. Before leaving HQ, he went to the janitor's room and told him about their broken couch. He went home only after getting an affirmation that the couch would be removed.

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**A.N.:** The chapters won't always be this short. It just depends on each person's story. Longer chapters will come. I'm sorry it's taking some time to update, but I've been busy at school. Hope you guys like my Havoc. I've never written a Havoc story before. First time for everything. Thanks for reading and please leave a review if you liked it! :)

D


	6. Chapter 6

**RIZA**

All Riza could feel was the constant throb in her thigh as she laid flat on her back on the hard cement floor. The cold had turned her whole body numb and it was actually helping to alleviate the pain. She laid still, shivering, and fighting the fever that refused to go down. For the past few days, she estimated, she had been in that same position, drifting in and out of consciousness. Sometimes, when they brought her water or some food to eat, she would will herself to get up and eat what little they gave her.

The food and water was always slid through an opening at the bottom of the metal door where they could slide it open and close it right after. The first time she had to move closer to get it, she felt a jolt of pain erupt through her body the moment she moved. Afterwards, she decided to sleep with her head beside the opening where she could just reach up and take the food without having to move her whole body again.

The food they were giving her was nowhere near sufficient, especially for an injured person who was healing. Sometimes they would give her a piece of bread or a thin soup, and if she was lucky, she got both. In the beginning, she had tried to count the days according to the meals they were giving her. But they seemed to have known from the beginning that she would do something like that, so the water and the food were given at irregular and unpredictable times. She knew this by measuring it with the intensity of her hunger. Sometimes, she would get food the moment she was starting to get hungry, but at other times, she felt like they were trying to starve her. _This fever's not helping either._ Most of the time, she was passed out and couldn't figure out how much time had passed. _For all I know, I might have been here for two weeks already._

The last thing she remembered was the darkness that engulfed her as the door had shut closed. When she had woken up the next time, her leg was neatly bandaged and a small box was placed beside her. _They want to keep me alive, just not in a comfortable way._ The box contained more bandages and a small bottle of alcohol to sterilize her wounds. When she agonizingly removed the bandages and inspected her wounds, she found that someone had done a good job stitching up both holes and cleaning everything. The smell of alcohol mixed with a little bit of blood was making her sick, but at least it would prevent her from getting an infection that would make her stay even more dreadful than it already was.

_They should've given me some pain killers too,_ Riza groaned in her head. Each time she tried dabbing the wound to clean it, pain shot out and made her breath hitch. Only after taking deep breaths and gritting her teeth was she capable of finishing up quickly and wrapping it in new bandages. _I hope this doesn't get infected. This cell isn't exactly the best place to hope for that though._

For hours she stayed motionless, waiting for the moment when someone came to bring her water or food. It was the only time when she could focus on the noise and forget about her thoughts. After all, she had been left in the dark alone and all she could do for hours was think and try to forget about the ache in her leg.

Most of the time when she was conscious, she would think about the men back in the office, wondering how they were faring without her, if everything was being kept in order. _They're probably running all around the place._ Now that Riza knew the men wouldn't question her leave too deeply, she doubted anyone would suspect she had been kidnapped. _At least not yet. Maybe if I'm gone for a month, they'll start to look for me. Maybe. _She was sure Fuery had shown the letter to Roy and she was even more positive Roy had gone to look for her at her apartment himself. She just knew it.

_They'll probably use me to get to the Fuhrer._ She hated the thought of being used against him, because she knew it would work. _Damn him._ Roy was known by every member of the team that he would never abandon anyone. He would always go out of his way for others and, unfortunately for her, put others before himself. So many times had she fretted over him, hoping everything would turn out well and hoping he wouldn't get himself hurt or worse, killed.

As the time passed and her wounds seemed to be healing well, she would frequently move her leg, flexing it, to get the blood moving and to regain some strength. Little movements like these kept her mind off others things for a few minutes, but she couldn't keep it up for long. She could feel herself gradually losing weight, becoming weaker and more easily tired. Her hair had grown a bit and even her nails. _I hate having long nails._ Riza would file them on the ground whenever they grew too long.

Every time someone came by to bring her some scrap of food, she would talk to them, ask them about nothing important, since she knew they wouldn't tell her about themselves. Most of the time, she asked what day it was or how the weather was outside or asked them about the food they were giving her and where it came from. She asked all sorts of questions, but not once had they answered her.

Riza was known to be a quiet person, who kept most things to herself and enjoyed her time alone. However, there was a limit to everything and the constant silence was making her anxious and desperate to hear someone else's voice, the evidence that another human being was present. Even the sound of her own voice was a relief. She was not used to spending such a long time in silence. After all, a long period of peace and quiet in the office was a rare feat to come by. Now, she was left alone with her mind and the unknown, left to imagine all the possible reasons and aftermaths of her kidnap.

_Now I understand why our instructors told us that solitary confinement can break the mind of a person, even the most strong-willed ones. An easy way to torture someone. Psychological breakdown._ It wasn't easy thinking about how everyone else was getting on with their lives, while you were left to rot, forgotten by the world. _If I get out, I'll make sure to add some training to defend against different torture methods._

Unfortunately for her, she had only gotten a three hours lecture at the military academy on the different methods of torture that existed and a quick overview of defending yourself against them. In fact, when she had registered, the country had already been in their second year of the Ishbal war. The new recruits had to be trained in a few months and sent out as reinforcements as soon as possible. However, since Riza had shown such rare talent with her marksmanship, they had shortened her training at the academy and sent her out halfway through the program. After that, she had been in Mustang's team and never had any sort of training ever again.

"How's the cell?" asked a mocking voice. Riza jumped and was brought out of her trance. She had been so used to being ignored that she had stopped trying to get them to speak to her. The sudden voice intruding on her silence was stimulating and she felt a rush of adrenaline. She recognized the voice and associated it to the leader of the three men.

"Are you the leader? How long are you going to keep me here?" she asked quickly, hoping he would reply.

"Anxious now, aren't we little one?" She could imagine the smile he had on his face, knowing he was getting to her. She kept her anger in check, as well as all the things she wanted to yell. _It's not the time to let my pride get the best of me. If I can't get him to talk more, then I'll lose._

Before she could say anything else, the man continued, "and no, I'm not the leader. My name is Marcus." _Marcus! I got a name!_

"Who are the other two?" Riza asked. She could hear a quiet chuckle.

"The big one is Rob, the skinny one is Jack." Marcus laughed airily and said, "seems like you're enjoying your solitary confinement Lieutenant Colonel."

Riza growled. "Who's your leader? Where is he?" There was a pause of silence and Riza could feel the cold sweat forming on her skin. _Please answer. Please don't leave yet._

"Someone named Victor," he said slowly, "you won't be meeting him though. He's not here."

"Then where is he? Why is he not here?"

"Because he's in the military." Riza's breath caught in the throat as she assimilated what Marcus had said.

"He's the spy?" she said in a voice so low it was almost a whisper.

"You could say that. Although I wouldn't say he's the only one. We have people coming and going. We have connections. That's how we got in," Marcus said with amusement.

Riza couldn't believe what she was hearing. _Many people infiltrated the military?_ She cursed herself for not being able to do anything. She had been in charge of the Fuhrer's security and had let such a thing happen. Now she knew all of this, but she couldn't be of any help. All her friends and the Fuhrer were in danger.

"Victor," she said to herself.

"Stop trying to figure out who it is. You won't know. Do you actually think he'd go in there with his real name?" _He's right._

"What do you want from me? What are your goals?"

"Our goal? Classic. We want the best revenge possible. And unfortunately for you, to have been caught in the middle of it, you'll have to be our sacrifice." Her eyes widened. _Sacrifice?_

"Why revenge? What for and against whom?" she asked frantically.

"I think you already know." She heard clothes rustling and some movements on the other side of the door.

"Wait! Revenge won't erase the past and the pains. You can't change anything with it!" she screamed, hoping he would stop and talk some more. Riza waited, frozen in place, listening for any sound.

"We know," he said suddenly. His voice was deeper and full of hate. "The past won't change. The dead won't come back. Our pain and suffering will stay the same. But, our revenge will allow the dead to rest in peace and give us a moment to relish."

Riza let go of the breath she didn't know she had been holding and listened to his fading footsteps. _Marcus, Victor, Rob, Jack._ She repeated the names in her head, memorizing them, making sure to remember them. In the end, she still didn't know the exact reason for their revenge but she could assume it was associated to Roy. _'I think you already know'_ he had said, but Riza knew many things and their reason for doing this could be anything. After all, it wasn't just the Ishbal war that had caused many casualties. Some people had also died during the Promised day and a few of them might have blamed Roy for it, not knowing what had exactly happened. Or maybe they were supporters of King Bradley.

Riza groaned in frustration and she eased her way up to a sitting position against the wall. She felt too restless to continue lying down. _I need to get out of here. _Her friends were in danger and she was stuck in here like a sitting duck. _This is exactly what they want. If I even had the slightest chance of getting out of here alive, then they wouldn't have told me anything._

Riza huddled closer into the old blanket with her good leg bent against her chest. For the first time in a long time, she felt fear. Her heartbeat was loud in her ears and her eyes were wide open, staring into the darkness. _I'm going to die. What will happen to the others afterwards?_ She felt fear, fear for her friends' lives.

She waited a long time in silence, listening for the next person to come. When the footsteps were heard, she waited until the person slid in the food until she spoke.

"Rob?" All movements stopped and she waited a few more seconds before asking, "Jack?". She froze in place as she heard the person shift. _Please don't leave._

"So, Marcus has told you our names. You know what that means," he said slowly. It was Jack.

"I know," Riza prodded carefully into the conversation.

She heard Jack chuckle slowly. "And you don't care about it? Are you sure you know what's coming for you?" Riza didn't answer. "Well, let me tell you. It's death."

"Is this to get to the Fuhrer? Because it won't work," Riza said firmly. When she heard Jack laugh out loud, she frowned.

"Do you actually think you can fool us Lieutenant Colonel? What do you think is the first thing to do when you want to get someone? Hmm?" he asked with a menacing tone. "A background search." _Damn it, they know. _Not many people knew about her father and his apprentice, but it wasn't that hard to find out about it either. If one dug deep enough, they could easily find people from their town who remembered them. "Your father taught him alchemy. He lived in his teacher's house for five years before he decided to go against his teacher's words and join the military in the hopes of helping the citizens of Amestris. His teacher had a young daughter, a few years younger than Roy Mustang, and they became good friends. That daughter was you, Riza Hawkeye, am I right?"

Riza refrained herself from speaking. Her lips formed a tight line as she controlled the anger that was building up.

"So, don't tell me he won't care. His childhood friend, maybe his lover now, gets captured and-"

"We're nothing like that!" Riza spat out. "We were childhood friends, but that's not how he sees me now. I'm a useful subordinate, nothing more than that. In fact, he sees me as an obstacle when it comes to finding a lover."

"I don't believe you," Jack said before standing up. "Out of all the people we could use to get to him, you were the best one. You know that."

"What happened to you? Why are you trying to get revenge on him too?" Riza knew he was still there, probably contemplating whether or not he wanted to tell her his reason. After a moment of silence he did.

"He killed my wife. He burned the whole house down." Riza waited in silence for him to continue. "It was during the Ishbal war. There was a part of that city where many Amestrians from all over the country lived. Most of them were merchants or long time residents. When the war started, they got caught up in it too. There was a barricade so no one could escape. I was away for work in another city at the time and I couldn't get back to her in time. I couldn't save her. Do you know how it feels to know that your wife is getting hunted down like all the others and knowing you can't do anything about it? I listened to the radio as they announced that the town we lived in got burned to the ground by the Flame Alchemist, the hero of Ishbal. I was lost for many years. Homeless, depressed and waiting to die by myself. I was a simple merchant, with no home or money left. I gave up on life, telling myself I could never get back at him or the military. They were too strong and I was alone and weak. But when I heard he had ascended to Fuhrer, I became furious. How can a killer, a mass murderer become the ruler of a country? It doesn't make any sense! Then one day they found me. This group who had similar views as me, who had the same target as me. Thanks to Marcus and Victor, I now have a new purpose in life before I die. I want to make him suffer as much as we all did, and it starts with you."

Riza felt a chill run up her spine and she had goosebumps all over her body. She knew there were people out there who resented Roy for what he did during the war, but ten years had already past and she didn't think such an extreme group would chose to act now of all times. Most of all, she dreaded the day she would meet these people, because she had been just as guilty as him, killing a good share of the people.

"He didn't want to do it. He didn't want to kill all those people in the war. He had to follow orders, if not it would have been him who'd die. He became Fuhrer to make sure such a thing, a mass genocide such as that one, never happened ever again. He wants to change the country for the better."

"That doesn't change the fact that he killed all those people. He had a choice! He could have said no! If he had just died, he could have spared all those victims he burned!" Jack yelled.

"No, the military would've just sent in other people to do the dirty job! He would've died for no reason. He knows what he's done. He knows he can never atone for his mistakes, but he can damn try his best for the future, to make certain that it never happens again and to make sure that no one has to make that same decision another time," Riza said loudly with force, hoping he could understand what she was trying to make him see.

"Shut up!" he cried, kicking the metal door hardly, making Riza flinch. "Nothing you say will change my decision. And you deserve just as much as him. You're just as much of a killer as him." With that, he left with hurried footsteps.

Riza sighed heavily, dropping her head against the wall behind her and closing her eyes. _We can never get away from our past._ Riza knew she would be haunted by the memories of the war all of her life. But she didn't want to relive it, to meet the victims' families, or to be reminded of her actions. She also knew how Roy had been devastated after the war and they had almost lost him too. She didn't want him to be reminded of his past mistakes, definitely not from men seeking revenge. It wasn't really the fact that she was afraid they would kill him. She knew that would be a hard thing to do. Roy knew how to protect himself and he had an excellent team, personally picked by her, protecting him. She was afraid that when he found out about their motive, he would let the guilt eat him up and chose to give them his life.

_Focus Riza. You need to stay strong. You have to get out of here alive._

* * *

**A.N.: **Hey I wanted to change this chapter and add some more stuff. I've been caught up with exams, but since they're over I think I'll have more time to write. Please look forward to future chapters. Review this one too if you'd like! Thanks :)

D


	7. Chapter 7

**WAIT! **I updated chapter 6. I added more stuff, because I just didn't think it was complete. So read it before this one!

* * *

**ROY**

It has been over a month since someone had heard of Riza. For one whole month, Roy had kept his cool about it, occupying himself with his work and his future projects for the country, but there hadn't been one day when he hadn't thought about her. Every day he would wonder where she was or what she could be doing at the moment. In the beginning, he blamed himself and told himself he deserved it and waited for her return patiently. However, by the third week, anxiety was setting in to him and he was barely able to hide it from the others. Everything from the beginning had been too strange for his taste. He knew Riza Hawkeye like no one else and if he knew better, nothing from this disappearance made any sense.

Riza Hawkeye had a style to everything she did. There was a motif to her actions that allowed him to predict, most of the time, her next moves. It was true that the clues she did leave behind made some sense, but it just couldn't quite completely fit in for him. It wasn't like her at all to leave without telling one of them in person and it had been too short notice. She knew he was the kind of person who worried about his subordinates and he knew she would never do anything to burden him with worries. That was one thing she definitely hated the most. _This is not right._

Roy's instinct were screaming at him, telling him something was awry. One thing he had learned from his past experiences was that his instincts were frequently right. This time it concerned Riza and he was not about to put her at risk by not answering to these instincts.

"Havoc," he called from inside his office. A few seconds later, he came in. "Close the door behind you." Roy could see how the serious tone of his voice was putting him on alert. "I need you to get me a list of all the investigators and their profiles from the Investigations Department. Don't tell anyone what you're doing or who you're doing this for. It has to be kept on the down low."

"Can I ask you what it's for, sir?" Havoc asked.

"I'm going to pick some people to form a search team," Roy said calmly. Havoc stared at him, deciphering what he was saying.

"For Hawkeye, sir?" he asked uncertainly.

"Yes. I have a bad feeling about her leave. It's been too long and we haven't heard from her all this time. Something is wrong and I'm going to find out about it. I need to make sure she's all right. When I know at least that, I can rest assured and wait patiently for her to come back when she wants to."

"But sir," Havoc paused, uneasy, "what if she is okay and finds out you've sent people out to spy on her?"

"I know Havoc," Roy said firmly. "That's why I need a professional team, the best one at that. God knows what she'd do if she ever finds out about this. She'll probably march in here with her gun to shoot me." Roy grimaced with a faraway look on his face as he imagined her cold look.

Havoc chuckled and said, "At least she'd be back." Roy couldn't help but smile at the thought.

"Just remember to keep this a secret, Havoc. Who knows who my enemies are, even in the military. I don't want anyone to target her, do you understand?"

"Ay, chief. Don't worry about it. I'd never put her in any danger either. I'll come back with those files soon enough." He saluted and left.

If he simply wanted to form a professional team to spy on her, then he could've easily walked in the human resources department himself and take all the files he needed, but this was not the case. Something was telling him Riza was not on a regular leave and he needed to be careful with his next moves. _If something happened to her, then I need to find out who's behind it._ He couldn't risk using the team to go out to look for her. If she had been taken, then the people who had done that would definitely be watching them to see if they would react. The best way to act natural in this situation is to be ignorant of the situation. There was also one thing that took years for people to gain when it came to Roy Mustang, and that was trust. Roy liked his two assistants, but it did not mean he trusted them completely.

Roy went back to doing some paper work, when there was a knock at his door.

"Come in," he called. Brandt came in quietly.

"Sir, General Sarzoft is here for the meeting."

"Alright, send him in."

General Sarzoft was in his mid fifties. He had salt and pepper hair, a thick moustache and a rounded belly. He had been one of the two generals sitting with him at his table during the night of his one month anniversary party. One topic that always came up at every one of their conversations was his daughter, Jennifer. There hasn't been one time that he hadn't forgotten to remind Roy of his beautiful daughter. Indeed, his daughter was very beautiful, with long dark brown hair, a perfect etiquette and good manners. She was nothing short of perfect for the political world and the perfect candidate for the first lady of Amestris. Everyone knew her father was desperately trying to set them up, but Roy had never lost to any of his advances. He made it clear, without being impolite or forceful, that he wasn't interested in finding a partner at the moment.

Roy was putting all of his focus on the important issues of his country and trying his best to keep up with the population's expectations. Because of this effort, he was proving to be a very good leader up until now. However, his achievements also had a downside, which consisted of the never ending spotlight on every aspect of his life. When he could, he would use any reason possible to cancel unimportant interviews or press conferences. After all, he already had so little time to himself.

"Fuhrer Roy Mustang," he saluted, "I hope everything is going well with you."

Roy smiled politely and said, "of course General Sarzoft. Please take a seat. I hope you are also doing well, especially with that diet your wife had insisted you go on."

The General laughed out loud. "No, actually I gave up after the second day. My daughter had predicted I would give up after two days and she was right."

"That's a shame. You should really think about taking care of your health, especially since you're not getting any younger," Roy chuckled.

"I know, Fuhrer. I hear it every day from my family," he said with mock exasperation. "As long as I can still do my job, I'm not an invalid." He gave Roy a folder and said, "This is the report for the infrastructures and the advancements of the railroad tracks being repaired in Amestris and the new ones being built in Ishbal."

Roy quickly scanned through the papers. "Were there any problems that I should know about?"

"No, sir. Everything is going well. The news tracks in Ishbal should be done in the next two months."

"Good, the sooner the better. It's going to facilitate so many things, especially the transportation of construction materials and supplies. I want you to keep up to date with the constructions and inform me if there are any major problems. One more thing, I'd like you to look into the missing military cars that have been occurring recently. I want to know exactly what's going on with that and who's responsible behind it."

"Yes, sir. I'll get a team to look into it right away." The General kept his eyes on the Fuhrer and seemed to be hesitating about something. _Here it comes._

"Is there anything else you'd like to add, General Sarzoft?" Roy asked knowingly.

"Actually, sir, my wife would like to invite you over to supper at our house when you have the time. I know you're very busy, but if ever you have a free evening, she'd be delighted to have to over. My daughter is also constantly talking about you and how wishes to meet you again. It would mean the world for her if you would come."

Roy had to restrain himself from sighing out loud and clenching his fists. This was exactly the reason why he hated meeting with Sarzoft. He was too direct and blunt in a way that made it hard for Roy to decline the invitation. _I feel like I'm the bad guy now._ The corner of his mouth twitched in irritation, but he managed to fake a thin smile.

"I'm sorry General. I'm afraid my evenings are also busy. Next week, however, I might be able to have a quick lunch with your daughter if she'd like." Roy saw the flash in the General's eyes and the way he tried to contain his excitement. _At least if I eat with her once and then reject her, he'll probably let me off the hook for a while._

"Of course, sir. I understand you're a very busy man. My wife will understand and I'm sure my daughter would be delighted to have lunch with you next week. Which day would be the most convenient one for you, sir?"

"Tuesday at 12:15. I'll only have 40 minutes before I go to another meeting, but that's the only opening I have."

"Of course, sir. It's not a problem. I will tell my daughter to come by around that time." He saluted one last time before leaving the room with a bit too much eagerness.

Roy slumped down in his chair and sighed. "God, he's persistent," he mumbled to himself. _I have to tell her directly, if not they'll follow me forever._ He didn't want to make an enemy out of the General, nor did he want to be overly friendly with him and his family. Roy had already made his intentions very clear, but Sarzoft had completely feigned ignorance.

* * *

In the late afternoon, after the others had already left, including his two assistants that he had dismissed, someone knocked on his door, waking him up from his short nap. Roy opened his eyes and stared at the door for a second before calling out, his hand ready to snap. He relaxed once he saw Havoc's head pop in with the trademark unlit cigaret hanging from his mouth.

"Yo chief!" he gave a weak salute, knowing Roy would have dismissed it just as quickly, especially after work hours. "I was sure you'd still be here."

"How did it go?" Roy asked, getting straight to business. Havoc crossed the room and dropped a folder on the Fuhrer's desk.

"All the best investigators from all the Investigations Departments from all the Headquarters all around Amestris, and all in one folder. Do you know how hard it was to get all of these without getting seen? I almost had to knock someone out, but luckily someone called him and he left before he saw me. You know, Hawkeye would be so furious to find out that there was a security breach inside HQ, by you nonetheless." Havoc grinned.

"By you, actually. Why do you think I used you to infiltrate? So I could keep my hands clean, of course," Roy smirked as he looked through the people's profiles, missing Havoc's scowl. "Good work Havoc. I knew you were the perfect man for this."

Roy closed the big folder and went to retrieve his coat.

"You're heading home, sir?" Havoc asked. Roy nodded. "Alright, then I'll drive you home before I head home myself."

"That's not necessary Havoc. I can drive myself home."

"Sorry chief, Hawkeye's orders. The Fuhrer always has to be accompanied, especially when he's outside HQ. I'm just following protocol, if not I'm dead." Havoc gave him a knowing look.

"I get it Havoc. Fine, drive me home, then you go home too."

"Don't worry, you don't have to tell me twice."

In the quite hallways heading to their car, Havoc asked in a hushed voice, "Do you really think something happened to her?"

Roy thought and hesitated a bit, then said "I can't really explain it, but I just have a feeling."

"Well, I'd say that's good evidence enough. You and Hawkeye are practically telepathic." Roy chuckled and they walked in silence for a while before Havoc added under his breath, "I just hope you're terribly wrong, sir. Because that would mean we haven't done anything to find her for a month."

Roy's muscles clenched and his heart ached with dread. "I hope so too." _ I hope I'm really wrong this time too._

* * *

The next day, Roy called in Havoc again and gave him two separate folders. "Can you find me these two men and send them to my office discreetly? They're in Central, so it shouldn't take you too long to find them. It would be better if they came when all the others are gone."

"Wow, these two guys are good. You really picked the best, didn't you?" Havoc commented before he saluted and left.

Roy spent the rest of the day waiting for it to end. He only stopped fidgeting in his chair when he heard the knocks on the door.

"Come in," he answered. Havoc came in followed by two other men. They formed a straight line in front of his desk and saluted. "At ease soldiers." When Havoc was in the presence of other soldiers, he always acted like the perfect soldier himself, which always secretly amused Roy.

"First Lieutenant Ryan Dorse and Second Lieutenant Victor Golsby, I'm sure you two are wondering why I've summoned you." He looked at them and confirmed his assumption by the look on their faces. "I've seen the work you two have done in the past two years and I have to say I was impressed. First Lieutenant Ryan Dorse, you've uncovered the four year old case of the famous serial murder of children that was never solved and that was dumped on you in the hopes of discouraging you from prying into other matters. However, little did they know you would have everything solved in just two months. You proved to everyone that you were quite the inquisitor and a very good one at that. Second Lieutenant Victor Goldsby, last year you looked into the military's finance department for a mission, but found something else. Huge amounts of military funds were missing and you tracked down that money till you found the culprit, a high ranking official with influential powers. But you didn't succumb to their threats and back down from it. You brought him to justice and sent him to prison for embezzlement. I liked how you stood by your convictions."

Roy paused and studied them. All three were listening carefully, keeping quiet. "I called you here because I have a new mission for the two of you. After the ball a month ago, Lieutenant Colonel Riza Hawkeye took a leave of absence for an undetermined period of time. Before she left, she left her dog to a friend and called her landlord a few days later to tell him she would be away for some time and that she would continue to pay her rent until she came back. I haven't heard from her in a month and I don't know where she's gone, but I need you two to track her down and confirm her safety for me. Your identities must be kept a secret and your presence must not be detected by her if you do find her. Let me warn you ahead of time that her instincts are _very_ sharp. The slightest mistake or unnatural behavior could give you guys away, so be diligent. No one except Captain Jean Havoc and myself can know about this mission, am I understood?"

The two officers saluted.

"Do we just have to find her make sure she's alright, sir?" asked Dorse.

"Yes. That's _if_ you can find her. I believe something's happened to her, but I don't have any lead or evidence that confirms the assumption. That's why I need you two to look into it for me."

"Yes, sir." They both saluted stiffly.

"Dorse will be in charge of this mission. Havoc will give you the briefs of the mission with detailed information. If you find anything, report back directly to me in person. If I'm unavailable, then report to Havoc and he'll bring you two to me as soon as possible. If we're both absent, then come back another time." Roy glanced at Havoc and he nodded. "Do not make any calls, they can be tapped."

"Yes, sir." They saluted again and left when Roy dismissed them.

Havoc smirked and said, "That went well. You should've seen their faces when I told then the Fuhrer was looking for them. Oh, the excitement!"

"I just hope they're as good as they're thought to be."

"We'll have to wait and see."

The rest of the week passed without any news from them. Roy tried to wait patiently, but he was boiling up with anticipation inside. _One month and one week. If Hawkeye really is okay and is just doing this to get me, then I'll... I'll... arg!_

* * *

The next week, Roy got an unexpected visitor.

"Sir, Miss Jennifer Sarzoft said she has an appointment with you," Royce said, standing close to the door.

Roy shot him a look of surprise and frowned. Suddenly, it came to him that he had indeed made plans with her the last time he saw her father. _Right. I have to eat lunch with her. This is going to be long._ "Yes, you can send her in."

Jennifer walked in, flawless and with elegance as usual. She wore a simple sleeveless beige dress that ended at her knees, with a modest v-neck. Her long brown hair was left down and lightly curled. Her makeup was light and natural. As she walked toward his desk, he notice how her hips were swaying a little too much to be natural. _Working her charm already. _She smiled beautifully at him and he returned it.

Roy stood up and went to greet her. "It's a pleasure to meet you once again Miss Sarzoft" Roy gave her a polite kiss on both cheeks.

"The pleasure's all mine Furher Mustang, and please, call me Jennifer," she replied, keeping her eyes on him.

"Then I insist you call me Roy, Jennifer." Roy gave her his infamous smirk, which made her smile bigger. "I'm afraid we don't have much time for our lunch today, so we'd better get going now. There's a small coffee shop down the street that makes the best salads and club sandwich. Will that be alright with you?"

"Of course, I think I know which one you're talking about."

They walked out of his office to see all the men staring at them. _How discreet._ "We'll be heading out for lunch. I'll be back before 13:00 for the next meeting." As he crossed the room to exit, he saw Havoc give him a weird look. He frowned at him, but Havoc averted his eyes and pretended to know nothing. _What was that supposed to mean?_ He knew they were probably all going to gossip like little girls the moment he left. Roy was used to it after all, since he had always been surrounded by beautiful ladies and jealous men all his life.

Roy's chauffeur drove them to the little coffee shop where they picked a table inside, hidden from the view of the people outside. The chauffeur waited in the car parked on the side of the building, while two men in uniform stood near the entrance. Roy knew there were some undercover officers out there, looking for any suspicious people, but he didn't exactly know where they were. _All Hawkeye's doing._

Roy ordered a club sandwich with a side of salads, while Jennifer ordered a salad and a soup. Everything was going smoothly, with Jennifer doing most of the talking. A lot of it was about her and every aspect of her life, but sometimes, she would ask his opinion or praise and admire him. Roy easily kept the facade that masked his boredom and listened to her. _If I don't stop her soon, I'll go crazy._ They had already finished their lunches and it was already 12:50. _I have to get back in five minutes!_ Luckily for him, HQ was only a few seconds away by car.

"I'm sorry, Jennifer, but I am expected in ten minutes at a meeting. I have to be back at Headquarters in five minutes." Roy gave her his most apologetic look.

"Oh of course Roy. Don't let me keep them waiting." Roy got up and paid for the bill before they headed back out and into the car.

"I'm sorry that I can't escort you back home properly, Jennifer, but my chauffeur can bring you back home safely."

"It's alright Roy. I have my own chauffeur waiting for me at HQ. I can get back home by myself." Roy smiled at her. "I'd like to thank you for having lunch with me, Roy. I really enjoyed myself. I know you're busy and I was so happy to learn that you would put some time on the side for me." _Here it comes._ "I think we should see each other again when you have some more free time. I'd really like to get to know you better." She put her hand on his and smiled sweetly.

Roy turned his hand, took hers in his own and gave her a light squeeze. "I'm sorry Jennifer, but I'm not really looking for that kind of relationship right now. My priority is our country at the moment and I have to focus on my work. I hope you can understand this."

At first, Jennifer was shocked to have been rejected. _It's probably the first time she didn't get what she wanted._ Her eyes had watered quickly, but she had also hidden it quite fast. She smiled to the side and removed her hands from his.

"I understand Roy." She looked at him again and asked quietly, "we can still be friends, right?"

"Yes. Friends." _That's all we'll ever be._ Their stop came and Roy helped her out of the car. Jennifer thanked him one last time before she walked away with her personal chauffeur.

_At least I'm done with that._ He sighed and walked briskly back to his office. Brandt and Royce were already waiting for him, while the other men were nowhere in sight.

"The others are finishing up their lunches at the cafeteria," Royce informed him, probably having seen his eyes scanning the room for them.

"Sir, when I came back from lunch, I saw two officers coming out of this room. They refused to tell me their names or their reasons for being there. I think they might have been looking for you, but-" Brandt said, but Roy cut him off mid-sentence.

"That's okay. They'll be back. We have to go now or we'll be late," Roy said quickly. _Why did I have to be gone today of all days!_ Roy was not showing it, but he was very frustrated for the time he wasted at lunch and for the possibly valuable information he had missed.

The meeting Roy had to attend was a discussion concerning the choice of a new general in charge of Eastern Headquarters. The previous one, chosen by Grumman, was retiring at the end of the year and now they had to agree to a new leader. However, Roy was not in the mood for this kind of childish debate at the moment, so he ended up adjourning the meeting until another time when they'd all be ready to properly discuss things with valid explanations and arguments. He received many unhappy and insulted looks, but he stayed firm on his decision.

When he exited the room, Royce and Brandt stood up quickly with surprised looks and rushed to his sides.

"Sir, did the meeting go wrong? Why was is so short?" Royce asked.

"I was expecting them to have their choices of candidates, backed up with intelligent arguments to support them, but none of them seemed to be up to standards. I will not sit there and wasted by time listening to them scream after each other and finish a long meeting without any results, so I adjourned the meeting to give them time to prepare a speech if they have to. God knows they're all squabbling for that position. They better give me one hell of a good reason to put them in charge of Eastern HQ. With the reintegration of Ishbal in Amestris, that choice is crucial," Roy answered exasperatedly. Royce and Brandt looked quickly to each other and did not say another word about the meeting.

Usually, Roy was good at keeping his emotions to himself and hidden from the others, but things were escalating quickly in the past hour and he just wanted to get back to his office.

"Are we heading back to the office sir?" Brandt asked.

"Yes, I've got a lot of work to do." _And some people to meet._

When they got back to the office, the men greeted him and Havoc said, "you've got some visitors, sir. I already let them into your office"

"Thank you Havoc." Roy locked his gaze on him and got the slightest nod from him before he looked back down to the papers he was working on.

Roy took quick strides to his door. When he entered, the two men stood up and saluted. Roy shut the door and walked to his desk, waving them off.

"Dorse, Goldsby, sorry for the wait. How did the mission go?" he asked immediately after they had all taken a seat. Roy could tell the news wasn't what he was hoping for, since their faces were somber and serious.

"We didn't find a trace of her, sir. It seems like she left quietly without letting anybody know or without letting anybody see her. We've asked many people in her neighbourhood and her apartment building about her leave, but nobody seems to be aware of it. Her rent this month was paid by cash, sent in an envelop with her name printed on it," Dorse started.

"However, we were able to check her bank account and there has been no activity whatsoever. The amount of her rent, which should have been withdrawn from her account, wasn't there. In fact, her last withdrawal was over a month ago. If she's away on vacation for this long, then she had better have a ton of stashed cash on her, if not, I highly doubt she's having a good time," Goldsby said.

_What is going on?_ Roy couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Sir, there's also something we found out about her call to the landlord. We're not sure if it was just a coincidence or not, but right before she called him, he said that he had received another call that was abruptly cut the moment he picked it up. He didn't have the chance to hear anything."

Roy crossed his hands together with his elbows on his desk and leaned his forehead on them. _This can't be happening._ "It's definitely not a coincidence. She's in danger." So many things were running through his head at the moment, trying to think of all the little details that he might have missed. However, his thoughts were foreshadowed by guilt. All this time he had preoccupied himself with work so he could forget about her absence. Little did he know, he had been playing right into the enemy's trap the entire time. Despite that big mistake, he could almost hear her tell him that it wasn't his fault. _That's what she always says._ His heart was pounding fast and he was beginning to feel the sweat. _We have to act fast._

"Sir, what's the next course of action?" Dorse asked slowly.

"Find her. Do everything you can to find a trace of her. Look into the things she'd been doing before she disappeared. I need you to find her."

"Yes sir," they answered with a hint of nervousness. Even though Roy wasn't glaring at them, his murderous look was enough to scare anyone in close proximity.

Goldsby dared to speak again, "Sir, the search might take a while though, since we're only two. I-"

"Don't worry Goldsby. I'm going to assemble a team to help you two on this mission. Once again, keep it on the down-low as much as you can. We don't know who's behind it and we can't risk getting found out if they're holding her," Roy said, staring at them hardly.

"Yes sir."

_Don't worry Hawkeye. I'll find you and save you._

* * *

**A.N.: **Sorry for the wait. If you read the note in the last updated chapter then you'll know I was busy with exams. I think the story is developing in an interesting way. I actually wish I was just a reader and not the person writing it, lol. I think it would have been more fun to read, haha. Thanks for reading and please review! Anticipate the next chapter!

D


	8. Chapter 8

**MARCUS**

Marcus hung up the phone and turned back towards Jack and Rob.

"He's started snooping around. Victor gave us the orders to start," he said gravely.

"It's about time. We've been waiting for so long to start. It pissed me off so much that we had to keep that bitch alive," Rob complained.

"I know Rob, but we didn't have a choice. We had to make sure Victor's cover was secure before we tried anything. We've been planing for this moment for four months and now our lights are green."

"Hey, Marcus. What did you tell her, apart from our names? Did you tell her about Victor?" Jack asked.

"I did. I told her Victor infiltrated Central Headquarters. I also told her about our other comrades in the military who are helping us," Marcus answered.

Rob and Jack frowned and exchanged confused looks. "Who else is in there? Were there any more people in this group that we didn't hear about?" Jack asked.

Marcus chuckled and smirked. "Not that I know of. But it doesn't mean we can't imagine them. I just thought it'd be fun to watch her suffer even more, knowing that her precious Fuhrer has an even bigger threat. And don't worry, she won't have the chance to warn him about anything she learned in here. We'll make sure of that."

"So what's the plan now? Do we kill her?" Rob asked impatiently.

"Calm down Rob. That will come later," he said, trying to calm down his anger. _He was always hard to control. I better make sure he doesn't do anything unnecessary._

"When? I'm sick of waiting! I've been waiting for over ten years!" Rob said roughly. Jack and Marcus stayed quiet and looked at him intently, letting him vent off his anger. "You both know what he did to my family. I had to watch my wife and my little girl burn down in front of me and I have my left arm as a reminder of that brutal night. Killing Roy Mustang is the one thing I have to do before I die." Rob was breathing loudly after his outburst.

"We know Rob," Marcus said calmly, "we are all victims of his doings. However, killing him will only end his life and give him an easy way out of his punishment. That man does not fear death like other people do. What we want to do is to make him feel what he made us feel, by taking the closest person beside him. That's why we kidnapped Riza Hawkeye in the first place remember? We're giving him the worst revenge he ever feared." By the time Marcus finished speaking, he was standing directly in front of Rob, who had calmed down. "Now, keep your head cool and under control before you ruin the whole plan," Marcus added with malice in his voice.

"Yes Marcus, I will. I'm sorry."

"Good," he turned back and headed to an old closet. He brought out something that resembled a big duffle bag. "Tomorrow, we'll need to make a nice video for the Fuhrer that will feature his damsel in distress calling for help. This is the empty skin of a punching bag. It should be big enough to fit a person. I even cut a little breathing holes so she won't die from asphyxiation. You two boys get her camera-ready for tomorrow." He raised an eyebrow at them and they answered him with satisfied smirks.

"I'll make sure to take my anger out on her," Rob laughed. _Yes, we'll break her just for you Mustang. You just wait._

They had set up their base in an abandoned prison in Eastern Amestris, a couple of hours away from Ishbal. It had been abandoned during the war, like every other building in the area, which made it perfect for them to stay completely hidden. No one had ever come anywhere near their peripheries since all the towns in proximity were also deserted.

Marcus was a middle aged man who could've looked like a regular family man, but that wasn't the case. Marcus had never been directly affected by Roy's flames. He never had a family that perished in the war, nor was he anywhere near it when it happened. He was, however, a man who strongly believed in justice. Justice for the war victims. It wasn't until he met Victor did he suggest they formed a group to get back at Roy, to serve him justice. None of them believed Roy was saying the truth when he said he wanted to build a better country for its citizens. _How can a mass murderer even say such a blatant lie like that._ This plan was the biggest thing Marcus had been waiting for. It was the excitement that was missing from the essence of his life, the excitement that would give him a sense of being.

Marcus smiled triumphantly and bent down behind a desk to pick up a medium sized case. Carefully placing it on the desk, he opened it and examined its contents. Before he had joined the group, he had been a freelance independent journalist, travelling around the world looking for stories and doing odd jobs here and there. He only sought after stories that peaked his interest, which mostly focused on injustice and corruption.

He took out the big tripod and installed it on the floor close to the center of the room. He then started assembling the pieces of the camera and putting the films in. After testing it a few times to make sure it was rolling properly, he grabbed a chair from the side and placed it in the center of the room, right in front of the camera and under a hanging yellow light. _Perfect scene. Just like in a movie. It has to be dramatic._

When he was satisfied with the setup, he ventured out of the room and went to find the others. The search didn't take long since he could already hear the beatings, accompanied by Rob's insults and Jack snickers, resonating off the long hallways.

When he found them, Rob was already busy hitting the bag, grunting with every hit.

"Why so quiet? You should scream when you're in pain!" He gave a hard punch to the side. The bag, which hung from a large metal hook drilled into the ceiling, swung violently. Marcus didn't hear any scream, but he heard a gasp and some labored breathing and coughing.

When they were aware of his presence, they paused and waited for him to speak.

"Did you tie her hands? Don't underestimate her even if she's in that bag."

"We did. She won't be able to move," Jack reassured him.

"Good." Marcus walked toward the bag, hanging like it had a corpse inside, and listened for any sound. He heard some wheezing and sharply drawn breaths.

"I hope you can still breathe properly Hawkeye. We can't have you die on us now can we?" Marcus taunted her. He waited for a response but never got any. He took a step back and kicked as hard as he could. "Answer me when I speak to you!"

This time he heard a low angry growl. "Just kill me already," she said with a constricted voice.

"Oh no no no, Hawkeye. That would be too easy. You have to suffer like all the people who suffered because of you too. Don't you think that's fair? Don't you think that's justice? How can we possibly let you die without your punishment? People would be disappointed in us." He waited to see if she would say anything, but continued when she didn't. "We're going to send out a message for the Fuhrer. That's why we have to get you ready, so you can fit the context of our purpose. Hang in there, you'll die soon enough."

Marcus turned and started walking away. "You may resume boys. Just make sure she doesn't kick the bucket. And don't ruin her face too much, we need to be able to recognize her." He gave them a final glance as a warning before leaving.

* * *

The next day, Rob and Jack dragged the bag into the room Marcus had prepare and dropped it beside the chair.

"Tie her up to the chair, hands behind her back and legs to the chair too." Marcus watched as they unzipped the bag and heaved her out. "Are you sure she's still alive?" he asked, slightly worried about it.

"Yeah, she's breathing all right," Jack said as he tied her legs to the chair.

Riza was all bloodied and sweaty, with a black eye and severe swelling on the left side of her face. Her lips had split and bled, but no teeth had been broken, nor was her nose. _I told them to watch her face! Oh well, I guess this is not too bad, _he thought with frustration. She was still unconscious as they finished setting her on the chair.

"Wake her up." Marcus tilted his head to the side toward two buckets of water. Rob picked them up and dumped the first one on her. Riza stirred and managed to move her head to the other side before she passed out again. Rob splashed the second one directly on her face with force. This time, she coughed and opened her good eye.

"Good morning Lieutenant Colonel Hawkeye. Actually, you wouldn't know that, but it is morning. Good to see you're still with us." Marcus chuckled as he saw her looking around wildly, probably trying to figure out what was happening. Marcus grabbed a black cloth bag from the desk and walked to her.

By then, her eye focused directly on him and he smiled down at her. "Don't worry Hawkeye. This is just to keep the surprise from being exposed too soon. It's going to help make things more dramatic for our video." He covered her head with the bag without any resistance from her. _Poor thing. She can barely hold her own head up._

"Now, let's start this thing." Jack and Rob nodded at him and went to stand on the side. Marcus went over to the camera, turned it on and adjusted its angle. He waved Jack over and said, "press on this when I tell you to."

He then walked to stand in front of the chair, blocking Riza from the view and nodded to Jack. When the button was pressed, the films started rolling.

"Hello Fuhrer Mustang. My name is Marcus. You are probably wondering why I'm sending you this video. I'm sure by the time you watch this, you've already figured out that Riza Hawkeye has been kidnapped." Marcus smirked and his eyes were glowing with amusement. "Well, I just wanted to let you know that we have her and we wanted to give her back to you." He stepped to the side and went to stand beside her.

"Let's all confirm that it's her, shall we?" He yanked the bag off her head. Riza seemed just as confused as the last she had been woken up, but was able to fix her gaze on the lens.

"See? Though I can't say she's in top shape, but she's alive. Why don't you say something to your precious Fuhrer, Lieutenant Colonel?" he sneered at her. Riza continued to stare, but said nothing. Marcus place his hand on her shoulder and gave her a hard squeeze, making her wince.

"Don't come, it's a trap!" she said suddenly. Marcus's smile faltered and he gave her a hard backhand hit to the face. The hit was so hard that her whole body slumped to one side, making the chair fall with her weight. Marcus took out a knife and cut though the strings that bound her hands behind and released her left arm. He stood on top of her, one leg on each side of the chair, still holding up her arm.

He bent down close to her face and said in a low voice, "you shouldn't have said that." He quickly twisted her arm and dislocated her shoulder using his whole weight. Riza screamed in agonizing pain and gasped for air.

Marcus threw her arm down and looked up to the other two, "that's how you make them scream." He marched back in front of the camera and said, "You have five days to find us and to come get her, alone. If you don't come alone, then she will die on the spot. You better come fast, because I can't guarantee that all her joints will be intact. Good luck." Jack pushed another button and the recording stopped.

"I'll get that video ready to be sent. Rob, you're going to make sure it gets directly to the Fuhrer's personal mailbox," Marcus said, dismantling the camera.

"What do we do about her?" Jack asked.

Marcus stared at her. She had passed out once again and was laying there motionless. "Leave her. She won't be going anywhere."

* * *

**A.N.: **Surprise! Yes, Marcus is a psychopath, lol. Poor Riza. She's getting beat up. Anyway, the story is getting somewhere, don't worry. Review if you liked it!

D


	9. Chapter 9

**FUERY**

"Hawkeye's been taken." _What?_ Fuery looked around at the other men's faces and saw similar reactions, except for Havoc. "I secretly investigated Hawkeye's unusual departure to make sure that she was safe, but First Lieutenant Dorse and Second Lieutenant Goldsby found evidence that didn't fit in with the situation. We all know she's not the kind of person to suddenly leave like this, especially for so long. That's why I need all of you to go out and look for her. Dorse and Goldsby will assist you with the search. We don't have that many leads right now, and we can't waste any more time."

"Wait, wait, wait," Breda said, confused, "are you saying that for all this time, she's been missing?" Roy nodded at him tensely. Breda sighed exasperatedly and ran his fingers roughly through his hair.

"Havoc, Breda, Falman, Fuery," Roy started, making eye contact with each of them, "Keep this on the down low and work as fast as you can. We don't know who's behind this, so we had best not trust too many people. Royce and Brandt won't be informed of this and they will stay behind to work in the office. We're going to meet here in half an hour with Dorse and Goldsby to discuss everything."

"Sir, what do we say if they ever ask us what we're doing?" Fuery asked.

"Tell anyone who asks that you're carrying out the Fuhrer's orders and that it's classified information." He gave them a hard stare and they all saluted him before going out of his office.

Royce and Brandt were not present when they came out, probably out to look for some things the Fuhrer had requested. Fuery walked to his desk in a daze, his heart beating far too quickly and the blood rushing to his head. He fell in his chair and looked around at the other three. Falman was also back at his desk, deep in thinking. Breda and Havoc were still standing, although Breda looked perturbed, while Havoc was looking around at each of them.

"Did you know about this?" Fuery broke the silence between them. He could see they were all jolted out of their thoughts at the sound of his voice. Falman and Breda stared at him before following his gaze onto Havoc.

Havoc stared at him with a guilty expression, then lowered his head and said, "yeah, I knew."

"Since when?" Breda glared at him.

"We had our doubts for almost a week now," Havoc said, turning to his side. Suddenly, Breda grabbed the front of his uniform with both hands and pulled him forward forcefully.

"A week? Why didn't you tell us about it?" Breda said furiously, while trying to keep his voice down as much as he could. Fuery and Falman were already on their feet and rushing to them.

"Captain Breda! Please let him go. We don't want to start a fight now," Fuery pleaded. _The problem is already big enough. We have to cooperate if we want to find her quickly._

Breda breathed out loudly from his nostrils before slowly relaxing his grip. Havoc never said anything, but Fuery could tell he felt sorry by the look on his face.

"Fuery's right. We have to work together, and fast if we want to find a lead on her whereabouts," Falman said after the tension dissolved.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys, but I couldn't. The Fuhrer ordered me to keep it a secret because we weren't sure of the situation yet. Trust me, I really wanted to let you guys in on this, but the chief said that we could've been watched by someone, especially if Hawkeye really was taken. If we all knew about it, then we'd all be acting differently and the people who kidnapped her would have known that we were on the move." Breda cursed after Havoc's explanation, while Falman and Fuery went silent. "That's why we need to act as normal as possible. I don't think we should all be out of the office at the same time. We should do a rotation so there's always at least one of us here."

"I think that's a good idea. I think we also need to keep an eye out on the Fuhrer. He's bound to do something rash if no one's there to stop him, especially since it involves Hawkeye," Fuery added. The others nodded in agreement. _We have to work fast before he decides to head out himself._

"Dorse and Goldsby are going to meet us in half an hour in the Fuhrer's office. Until then, we should get as much work done as possible, because we'll be getting down to business immediately after the meeting," Havoc informed them. Without wasting anymore time, they all went back to their desks and quickly worked on their paperwork.

Fuery was working hard and fast, but his mind was always distracted and being tugged away. His heart was still beating at a fast rate and he could feel his eyes prickle a bit whenever he thought about Hawkeye being kidnapped. After all, that person would have to be very skilled and strong to be able to kidnap her. _Did they take her by surprise? Did they disarm her?_ Fuery was trying to think of different possible scenarios of her kidnapping, but there was just too many that he had to force himself to stop so he could focus on his work.

Unfortunately, his mind wandered back to her and he remembered the way she looked on the night of the ball. Unlike all the other ladies that night, Hawkeye had been on duty so she had to be in her full uniform. Sometimes, during that night, he had looked for her and had seen her looking at other women in their beautiful evening dresses. Although she had her usual neutral face, he had seen her eyes wandering up and down other women's dresses and observing them. He knew she had wanted to come that night to celebrate the night with them, but some higher ups had requested her help for the security and, being Hawkeye, she obviously couldn't refuse that position.

Fuery also hadn't missed the bags beneath her eyes and the almost constant frown she had worn ever since Roy had become the Fuhrer. Her job had taken on a whole new level of stress due to her responsibilities and her tendency for perfection in everything she did. Fuery had observed her and had noticed how she would skip lunch sometimes so she could catch up with some work. It was clear that she had been working overtime and it had definitely taken its toll on her. Unfortunately, no one could convince her to rest a little bit more and the higher ups were definitely not going to complain about an overachiever. Roy had been caught up in his own duties and was mostly out of the office, so he hadn't been aware of her working hours.

_She probably had her guard down since she was so tired and also... because of us._ Fuery had tried his very best to erase that night out of his memories, but it seemed to be harder than he thought, especially now, since he felt even more guilty about their actions on that night. _She was probably very hurt by our comments and too distracted to notice the people who kidnapped her._

As time slowly passed by, Fuery kept a close watch on the clock hanging on the wall directly in front of him. _Nine minutes left._ He continued doing his work quickly, glancing at the clock every now and then. When there was only one minute left he hurriedly finished the paper he was working on and placed it with the other completed ones on a nice pile in the corner of his desk. He could see the others were also trying to keep calm, but were clearly failing due to their impatience. _It should've been half an hour now. Where are those two?_

As if on cue, a knock was heard on their office door before it opened. Dorse and Goldsby walked in and saluted them. They all stood up and saluted back before making their way to the Fuhrer's door. No words were needed between them to pass on the message. They were all here to for a mission and they were eager to get started. They all understood that Hawkeye's retrieval had the utmost importance and no one wanted to waste anymore time.

"Come in," they heard Roy say after they knocked. He was already waiting for them, settled in his chair behind his desk, with his elbows on top and his fingers intertwined. He watched them enter one by one, with Fuery closing the door behind them. They aligned in front of him and saluted.

"I think we all know the purpose of this meeting. Dorse, Goldsby, tell us what you've found up until now," Roy started.

Dorse put some papers down on Roy's desk and spread them out. Everyone approached the desk to get a better view.

"After our investigation, we deduced that Hawkeye's absence was not deliberate. There were no traces of her disappearance, such as sightings from any neighbours or friends. We gained access to her bank account and discovered that it has been inactive ever since she has left." Dorse showed them a copy of the bank account to confirm the information. "We've also asked her landlord about her monthly payments and he said that everything was paid by cash. He received an envelop this month with her name printed on it." Goldsby took out an envelop from the pile of papers. Roy took it in his hands and examined it.

"If they can't get her to write for them, then they'd have to print it out instead of trying to forge her handwriting," Breda said. "If they'd written her name, then someone would've been able figure out that it didn't come from her."

"That's right. It's obvious it didn't come from her, because there was no withdrawal of that amount from her bank account either," Goldsby agreed. _I'm sure she didn't carry such a big amount of cash on her either._ Fuery studied the past transactions of her bank account and didn't find any big amount of cash withdrawals in the past six months.

"She didn't have any large sums withdrawn in cash in the past. I think she paid all her rents with checks, direct withdrawal to another account," Fuery concluded.

"Can I see that?" Havoc asked. He looked over the papers and confirmed for himself what Fuery had just said.

"It's already clear that she didn't leave on her own free will. Someone or a group of people took her away and did a very good job trying to cover it up. They certainly fooled us for a while," Roy said with anger. "We have to find her as soon as possible. Who knows what they've done to her by now or what they even want from her." _Or if they've killed her already,_ Fuery thought. He knew they were all thinking the same thing, but refused to say it out loud, refused to acknowledge that possibility.

"We recently found something else regarding her military issued car," Dorse added. Riza had been issued a car when she was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, especially since she needed to go in advance everywhere where the Fuhrer was going to make public appearances, to make sure the area was secured. "We tried to track down her car, to see if she might've taken it with her. However, the car was found parked on Ferguson Street. When we asked around, the locals told us that it had been there for over a month now and that nobody had ever come to move it. Normally it would have been towed away, but since it was a military car, nobody reported it or did anything about it."

"That's where..." Falman started, but hesitated uncomfortably. _Oh no, don't tell me..._

"What Falman? Where is that?" Roy demanded.

"It's where we went that night, before she left." Everyone understood his meaning and looked away in guilt.

"Alright everyone. Look around that area to see if anyone saw anything. Surely one person saw what happened," Roy said with a touch of hope in his voice. "If you find anything, report back to me in person immediately." They all saluted him before heading out.

Once they were on the other side of the door, Havoc immediately took action.

"I'm going to head out with Dorse and Goldsby. Two of us should stay for now and we'll rotate later," he said.

"I'll stay." Fuery volunteered.

"Me too. Havoc and Falman can go first. We'll switch after. We'll keep an eye on the Fuhrer too." Breda added the last part quietly. _And feed Hayate too._

Havoc and Falman nodded at them before quickly exiting their office with Dorse and Goldsby.

"We should do as much paperwork as we can, so it won't bother us with the mission," Fuery recommended.

"You're right. We'll finish ours and try to start on the others' too if we have time."

They both went to their desks and got down to work. Not too long after they started on their paperwork, Royce and Brandt entered the office carrying big piles of paperwork and a large bag full of letters and packages from the Fuhrer's personal mail box.

"Welcome back," Fuery said quickly after giving them a glance. Breda only grunted in acknowledgement as he furiously wrote away.

"Urg, the Fuhrer always receives so much mail, especially from fans!" Brandt whined. _Well, he is considered the most eligible bachelor in Amestris right now. A lot of girls would do anything to get him._ Even if he received all those fan letters and love letters, he almost never read any of them because Royce and Brandt's job also included filtering out his mail as best as they could. Only the important letters reached him.

Royce took the huge stack of paperwork and carried them to the Fuhrer's office while Brandt cleared up their desks, getting them ready to sort through the Fuhrer's mail. When Royce came back, Brandt was taking out the mail from the bag and placing them on the desks.

"When will they learn not to send fan letters and such? Surely they know that these pink envelops won't be reaching him." Royce grumbled. They went through the Fuhrer's mail three times a week and each time the bag would always be full. They've seen almost anything and everything being sent through the mail and it never ceased to amaze them.

They both separated the mail in different categories, such as letters, small and big packages and video cassettes. A lot of women went so far as sending videos of themselves, which only ended up as entertainment for them.

"Hey, look at this one." Royce held up a cassette for Brandt to see. From his seat, Fuery could see that it was only written the Fuhrer's name in a simple handwriting on the front of the cassette.

"Put it with the others. You know they're all from his fans anyway. It'll only make the Fuhrer waste his time if we give it to him," Brandt said without stopping from sorting out the letters.

"But I don't think this one's handwriting is from a girl. Looks pretty manly to me. Maybe it's important."

Brandt snatched the cassette from Royce's hands and tossed it to the side with all the other video cassettes. "Did you already forget the one we got last week? It had a similar handwriting, but when we checked it was only another proclamation of love. I swear, it's a new tactic they're using to try to fool us. If you want, we'll check it another time to make sure, but right now the Fuhrer has other things to take care of and I don't think he'll want to waste his time looking at things like that," Brandt said irritatedly.

"Fine," Royce submitted grudgingly.

"If you think it might be important, I can always check it later for you guys," Fuery piped in. The cassettes could only be played with the right player, which was located in another room. Since Fuery was their technology geek, he was in charge of verifying most of the videos that came through the Fuhrer's mail.

Royce retrieved the cassette and handed it to Fuery before thanking him and going back to the pile of mail. By the time they were done, it was already lunch time. Fuery had finished his pile of paperwork and had already started a bit on Falman's.

"Want to go grab a bit of lunch?" Breda asked him. Royce and Brandt had already left for lunch and they were the only ones left in the office.

"Yeah, but I think I'll just buy a sandwich or something and bring it back here so I can work at the same time," Fuery answered.

"Met too. We should finish as much as we can. I think the Fuhrer will be gone in the afternoon, so that means Royce and Brandt will go with him. We can lock the office and join the others then." Fuery nodded and they headed to the cafeteria.

They both bought something easy and quick to eat before going back to the office. For the next two hours they worked non-stop. The Fuhrer had left for a meeting elsewhere a while ago and they were just finishing their paperwork before they headed out themselves.

It was around three o'clock when they were able to join the others. Havoc had called them earlier in the afternoon and they had told him about their plan and decided to meet up in a coffee shop on that street.

"So, find anything?" Breda asked right away. Fuery could already tell by the mood and the defeated expression on everyone's face that nothing had been found. His assumption was confirmed when they shook their heads.

Fuery and Breda ordered their own coffees before discussing what had been done up until now. Apparently they had asked many people living in the apartments around the area and some small businesses, but nobody had seen anything on that day. That night, Riza had come to see them before she left and it had already been very late by the time she arrived. It was no wonder they had trouble finding someone who could've seen her on that night.

They spent the rest of the afternoon asking people around and waiting for people to come back home from the apartments facing the street. Fuery and Havoc came out of club 71 with a tired sigh. They had spent hours walking around and talking to people and couldn't find any lead on Riza. When the sun was starting to set, they all agreed to retire for the day and continue tomorrow.

For the next two days, their routine was very repetitive. Early in the morning, they would all come into the office to report to the Fuhrer before heading back out. They took turns among themselves to stay and do some paperwork, so they wouldn't fall behind their regular work. Fuery spent those two days calling other military headquarters, train stations all over Amestris, offices at the borders of Amestris and any possible friends or acquaintances of Riza. However, he never came up with any good news at the end of the day.

On the fourth day, Fuery was stuck doing the paperwork in the afternoon with Falman. Royce and Brandt were at their desks preparing the Fuhrer's schedule for the next two weeks. The office was silent, except for the scratching of pen on paper, as they were all working seriously.

Suddenly, Havoc burst through the doors, out of breath, with Dorse, Goldsby and Breda in tow. All the men in the office jumped in surprise, wide eyes staring at the intruders.

"Fuery, Falman," Havoc said breathlessly, signalling for them to follow him. They quickly got out of they seats and followed the others into the Fuhrer's office before closing the door on the assistants' curious faces.

"Sir, we've got a lead!" Havoc exclaimed, forgetting formalities. "A girl working at club 71 saw Hawkeye being taken by two men in a white van. We've traced it all the way to Hillion Valley, a town thirty minutes outside of Ishbal."

"Wait, didn't you say that you've already asked all the employees at club 71 and nobody said they'd seen anything?" Roy asked suspiciously. Fuery was just as curious to this development, since he was the one who had made sure to ask every single person from that place.

"We were loitering around that area again and a girl just came up to us and confessed. She didn't say the truth the first time we asked around because she said she was afraid to get involved in it. Apparently, that night she had just ended her shift and was leaving the club when she saw two men grab Hawkeye from behind. She had hidden herself behind a wall and even took out a paper and pen to write down the plate number of the car and the men's descriptions. We started by calling all the headquarters to report this van and luckily the Eastern headquarters had a report on an abandoned car in Hillion Valley that matched the description and plate number of that car. They said that the car was reported to have been abandoned for over three weeks now," Dorse explained.

Roy was staring hard at the surface of his desk, deep in thoughts. While the men waited in silence, Fuery could feel the energy in them revive itself. This was good news for them and they were all fidgety just thinking about getting one step closer to finding their missing teammate.

"We leave with the first train tomorrow morning. Everyone go home and get as much rest as possible. We have a long ride coming," Roy said, eyes full of determination.

With all four of them back in the office, the rest of the paperwork finished in less than an hour, especially since they were all pumped up with a new resolution. Havoc, Breda and Falman had all left immediately after they finished their paperwork. Fuery was also preparing to leave early, but Royce spoke up before he reached the doors.

"Second Lieutenant, did you check that video cassette yet?" _Oh yeah... right._ He had completely forgotten about it.

"I'm sorry. I didn't have time to check it yet." He felt bad to have let it slip his mind, especially since it was on top of his desk. "I can check it now though. If it's important then I'll give it to the Fuhrer." It was still early and he didn't want to make him wait any longer, since he knew they'd be gone for an undetermined amount of time from tomorrow onwards. _Might as well get this over with._

We returned to his desk to grab the cassette before heading one floor down and into a room full of players. Fuery liked to used this storage-like room since nobody liked to be in this clustered space. The good and newer cassette players were in another room where the they were commonly used by different departments.

Fuery placed the cassette in the player and started it. The television lit up and made scratchy noises before focusing on a man. _A man? That's different. _Fuery watched curiously as the man started talking, but it wasn't long before the blood drained from his face and a cold seeped through his body. His body was trembling and covered with cold sweat by the time it ended. Fuery quickly turned off the player and clumsily removed the cassette.

He clutched it against his chest protectively, tears in his eyes, taking shaky breaths. _I have to get this to the Fuhrer!_

* * *

**A.N.: **Happy New Year 2013! So sleepy. R&R. Thanks.

D


	10. Chapter 10

**RIZA**

If breathing wasn't vital, Riza would've stopped a long time ago. Unfortunately for her, it was probably the only thing keeping her alive. Ever since they had taken her out of her cell, she hadn't gotten any water or food. Breathing had become tiring and painful, but she couldn't stop. She had to concentrate on taking small slow breaths so the pain wouldn't erupt all over her ribcage. From what she remembered, or more like heard, three of her ribs had broken or had fractured when they were beating her. Now, her left shoulder was also dislocated and her right arm was probably badly bruised from the chair when she fell down with it.

Anyhow, apart from the constant waves of pain, the rest of her body was numb. She knew her face was swollen, but she couldn't really feel anything at the moment. Her mind wasn't clear and she could barely stay conscious for a long time. She laid there exactly the way they had left her, lying on her right side on the cold cement floor, still tied to the chair except for her left arm, which she couldn't move anyway.

Sometimes when she would regain consciousness, she made the error of trying to move, resulting in causing a strong pain in her upper right arm, the one that was being crushed by her weight and the chair. Each time, she would grit her teeth and whimper slightly as her breath caught in her throat. _It's a vicious circle. If I move, I'll feel pain. If I don't move, my arm will get worse and I can't get out of here._

Unfortunately for her, she didn't feel strong enough to move and to tough the pain. It was just too much for her. Somehow, she would have to remove the ropes tying her right hand behind the chair so she could free that arm. Then she would have to remove the ropes on her two legs. Just thinking about bending over to reach her legs made her cringe. It was already painful enough to breathe. She couldn't imagine how excruciating it would be if she had to move that much. To top it off, if ever she would be caught trying to escape, it would probably mean another beating and she definitely didn't need another one.

_How many days has it been now?_ Roy had five days to find them and to come alone. She had no doubt he would come if he ever found her. The problem was the finding part. How could they possibly find her? There was nothing out of the ordinary in this room, nothing that could give them a hint. All the walls, including the ceiling and the floor, were made of cement. There were no windows, except for a small one on the door. The room was lighted by a single hanging light bulb and the light coming through the small window on the door. Even in here they wouldn't let her see the outside. She couldn't discern whether it was day or night.

Riza didn't want Roy to come, but her selfish side wished for it at the same time. She knew that if he came, alone nevertheless, they would ambush him and hurt him, probably even kill him. She would gladly sacrifice herself if she knew for sure that it would protect him. But she knew all too well how caring, brash and just he was. The moment he would see the video, he wouldn't be able to stop until he found her. _He won't even sleep until he does._ It was just the kind of man he was, never abandoning anyone, putting equal importance on all of the people under his care and command.

On the other hand, she desperately wanted to live. She had waited almost all her life to see Roy reach the top and now that he had, she wanted to watch him change the country, to live in the better country he was supposed to create. She thought of Hayate and her dear friends at work. She wanted to see them one last time. She wanted to see Roy.

_But never in these circumstances._ She couldn't afford to wish for those selfish desires. Every time she thought about him coming to save her, her heart would beat faster with dread. She knew he would prefer to come, suffer and die with her than to continue living, knowing he had abandoned her. _Please don't come. Please don't come._

Later, when she thought about it again, she realized that her prayer wasn't very fair for him either. If he saw the video, but couldn't find her in time, it would be just as bad as having abandoned her. He would drown in the guilt of having failed her. If that happened, he would never be the same man again. After all, it took him so long to let go of Maes' death when it wasn't even his fault. If he knew her death had been caused by him, he would never forgive himself.

Riza closed her eyes firmly, trying to keep the tears from spilling. It seemed that every scenario from this situation would end with Roy getting hurt one way or another. _They really have him trapped._ It would be their win in the end and she couldn't do anything about it.

She heard the doorknob turn and then saw Marcus, Rob and Jack enter the room. Her vision was blurry from exhaustion, but she knew those figures belonged to them.

"She'll be dead before the five days. Get her some water and put her chair back up." She heard Marcus bark out.

Barely after she had finished processing what he had just said, she felt herself being jerked up harshly back to a sitting position on the chair. She let out a loud gasp as she was heaved up and struggled to breathe. The sudden movements had made all of her body explode, wave after wave, with pain. Her vision had went white. Her ears were ringing. Her head felt like someone was hammering it from within. She especially felt her limp left arm hanging from her shoulder, the force of gravity pulling it down and making it worse.

Riza was breathing in short gasps, whimpering from the pain her body was feeling. Her head hung back limply. Her eyes were half open, but saw nothing and her whole body was trembling.

"It's the third day today and still no news of your dear Fuhrer," Marcus said as he held her chin to make her face him. However, Riza was only half conscious and couldn't really hear anything he was saying. "Disgusting." He let go of her and wiped his hand on his pants. "Where's the water?" he asked.

"Here." Jack had returned with a glass of water and went over to Riza. He held her head straighter and made her drink the water. In the beginning she choked on it, but when she realized it was water, her eyes focused a bit more and she drank greedily. When there was no more water, she breathed heavily and coughed a little bit. She felt someone lightly slap the side of her face to make her stay awake.

"Wake up. Listen when we speak to you," Jack said. Unfortunately for her, he had slapped the left side of her face, the side that was already swollen and hurting. Those hits definitely woke her up and she had to put in a lot of effort to keep her gaze steady on them.

When Marcus was satisfied with her attention, he asked, "Do you think he'll come for you?". _Of course he will, you freak._ She didn't say anything, refusing to play into his games. "I mean, if he's seen the video, he'll know that you're almost half dead. Why would he put himself in danger to save a lowly subordinate like you?" Marcus walked back and forth in front of her, grinning when he saw a change in her expression.

"He'll come for me. We've worked together for over a decade. We're childhood friends. He's not the type of person to abandon his friends, or even anybody. Is that what you're thinking?" he asked her again.

"Go to hell," Riza said slowly.

"Oh, I assure you, we've been there and back," Rob said in the background.

"Roy Mustang may love his friends and subordinates, but you can't forget the fact that he just became the Fuhrer. After many long years of striving for the top, it would be hard for anyone to risk it all for one subordinate. Am I right, Lieutenant Colonel?" He bore his eyes into hers, trying to see past her walls, but she didn't budge, despite the turmoil growing inside her. He was right about everything. Roy would have to risk everything to come save her.

The amusement in Marcus' eyes infuriated her. "Is this all a game for you?" she asked through her teeth, barely over a whisper. She was so angry that she was choking on her words. He smiled thinly at her and stepped back.

"We're just trying to put Roy Mustang in a difficult situation. We want him to sweat in fear and feel helpless. We're trying to see just how much of a priority you are to him. Who knows? He might not even come. You might not even be worth all the risk and effort." He paused a bit, "We'll just have to wait and see what happens. There are two days left. If he doesn't show up by eight in the evening on the fifth day, then you'll be the one who dies."

When she was back to being alone in the room, she closed her eyes and listened to the eerie silence for a while. Too much was happening at such a fast rate that she felt overwhelmed. It seemed like each time she woke up, days had already passed by and something new had already happened without her knowing any of it. Not only was it really hard for her to concentrate on anything other than her wounds, she was missing too much information to be able to understand the whole situation.

_What if he's right? What if he doesn't come?_ What Marcus had said was really getting to her. She knew it would be the right think to not come. When they had enlisted and had been recruited under Roy Mustang, they all knew that his life came before their own and that they would have to sacrifice their own lives to keep him safe if it was necessary.

However, working under him for so many years made her realize that he had influenced her so much more than she would've thought. They had learned to treasure life and to never abandon a comrade. Roy would put himself in danger without a second thought if he knew he could help his friends. Saving lives would always be his first priority. That's what made him different from other leaders. That's what made him outstanding. _That's what made me follow him._

She believed in him. He would always find a way out of the most dire of circumstances. She didn't have many people she could believe in or rely on, but she knew she would always have him. Because of this fact, she was in distress about the outcome. _Please be safe._

Riza opened her eyes and took a better look around the room, hoping to find more information. It would also keep her occupied for a little while, instead of letting herself think about horrible outcomes. The room had a dim yellow light hanging right above her head, which made her relish in the little heat it was giving off. Apart from the camera, the desk and the case sitting on it and another chair, the room was empty. She found herself studying the crack in the walls and the floor where her eyes could see without having to move her head. She took her time with each line, scrutinizing every detail. It allowed her to stay awake and to sharpen her mind a little bit. Eventually, her eyes wandered onto the camera.

It looked like any normal camera to her, but she wouldn't have been able to tell otherwise if it had been a professional one. Her knowledge in cameras was very limited after all. She studied the camera, the tripod and the way the camera was attached to it. In the end, she concluded that there was nothing noteworthy she could get from it, so she moved on to the desk.

Once again, it was very plain and boring. She could have spent a long time studying the lines and patterns of the wood, but she was too impatient to find something useful. _This is getting nowhere. There's nothing here._

Finally, she eyed the case lazily. It was made out of a dark leather, worn out through time. It had a hard casing, with a flap on top that revealed extra storage space. Riza was about to close her eyes again when something caught her attention. She squinted to have a better look, but her swollen left eye was making that challenging. On the corner of the flap of leather, there was a faint imprint. _Marcus Or..._ The last few letters of his last name were very faded and almost indistinguishable. However, Riza had always taken pride in her last name and had never failed to live up to it. After a few more seconds of intense focus, she could finally see the letters, and even spotted another small inscription in the bottom.

"Marcus Orman," she whispered to herself, "Central."

She shut her eyes and repeated those words in her head like a mantra. _Marcus Orman, Central. Marcus Orman, Central. If I ever survive this, I'll be coming for you, Marcus Orman._

Riza knew she had slept for a long time, because when she had woken up, her neck was extremely stiff. Her body was numb, cold and rigid at the same time. _At least I don't feel the pain as much. _She immediately took back her words the moment she lifted up her head. Once again, the room spun around, the pain took her breath away and left her heaving. She grimaced at her miserable state and whined to herself. _Make the pain go away. I want to go home._ She was desperately wishing it was all a sad dream and that she just had to wake up to make it end, but she knew better than that. She only allowed herself to be dismayed by her pitiful state when she was alone. It would be the last thing she'd want to show her captors.

This time, she stayed awake for a while, waiting anxiously for something to happen. Her heart leaped when she heard the door opening. _Did he come yet?_ Marcus, Jack and Rob walked in casually. Marcus, like always, was the one standing before her, leaning on the desk. They all stayed quiet, observing her. _What's going on?_ It was unnerving and she hated to admit it, even to herself.

"Has it been five days yet?" she asked cautiously, not knowing what to expect.

"No,"Marcus answered leisurely, "but he won't be coming." That made her eyes widen in surprise and confusion, despite having told herself that she wouldn't show them too much emotions.

"Wh- what do you mean? How would you know that? How much time is left?" The news had shaken her to her core. Although she had wished that he wouldn't put himself in danger for her, the discovery was unexpected. _How can this be? Did he really receive the cassette?_

"There are four hours left, but he won't be coming." He signalled to Rob, who left the room and quickly returned with a rectangular machine. Riza was following every movement in the room, feeling like she had missed an important part of the conversation. Nothing made sense to her. She glanced at Jack, hoping to read some facial expression that would give away the truth, but he had his usual scowl on his face and glared at her when their eyes met.

Marcus took out a small cassette from one of his pockets and held it up in front of her.

"Do you know what this is?" he asked her.

"An audio cassette." Riza was starting to sweat. She felt restless and uneasy about its content.

"That's right. Victor sent this to us. Thanks to you, everything that's said right outside of the Fuhrer's private office is recorded." He smiled with amusement. "Listen to this. I'm sure you'll get all of your answers." He put the cassette into the player and pressed a button.

There were some scratchy noises in the beginning, then it cleared away. Riza had to strain her ears to listen carefully and to focus in order to ignore the loud heartbeats pounding throughout her whole body.

"_What about Hawkeye?"_ Her breath hitched at the first sound. It was Brandt's voice.

"_We don't need her anymore, so get rid of her. I'll get-" _there was a short scratchy sound that interrupted the sentence, _"a new and sexier-"_. The cassette ended with static and Marcus stopped the machine with frustration.

"Stupid machine. Keeps cutting the sound." He slammed an angry fist on it, before he signed loudly and crossed his arms, facing back at her. He snorted and chuckled when he saw her expression.

Riza had her head bent down, staring into empty space. _It's not him. It can't be._ She knew that voice. It was definitely his voice. She couldn't mistake it with anyone else's, but the things he said were so unlike him. _It can't be._ Things were getting more and more confusing for her. Of all the scenarios she had imagined, even the wildest one didn't come close to this. She could never imagine him intentionally throwing her away like this, abandoning her like some used up tool.

_'-you can't forget the fact that he just became the Fuhrer. After many long years of striving for the top, it would be hard for anyone to risk it all for one subordinate',_ she remembered Marcus saying a few days ago. Riza's chest tightened, screaming in pain, but she could barely notice it because of the emotional turmoil that she was facing at the moment. _It can't be._ She knew this man for practically all her life. She knew he had dreamed and aimed for the top, but he would never use people to achieve it. He wouldn't abandon them after reaching it either. _It can't be._

There was a low rumbling sound coming from her, then a small chuckle, which turned into a laugh when she raised her head. The three men stood quietly, watching her with a frown. Riza finally stopped and glared at Marcus fiercely. She could feel her head heat up with the anger boiling inside.

"What kind of joke is this?" she spat out every word with distaste. Marcus no longer had the hint of amusement in his eyes. She could tell he was not happy with the reaction he had gotten from her.

"Think what you'd like, but this is no joke. Victor sent this to us and also informed us about it by phone. He wants us to get out of here soon, before the Fuhrer sends some people to clean up the place," he paused and added, "and to see to your death."

Riza continued to glare at him, but her resolution was crumbling down at a fast rate. _He wants me dead? Why? _She couldn't think of any reason he would want that, but she couldn't convince herself that it was all a lie either. She bit the inside of her lower lip to stop herself from looking weak.

"I guess you were not as important as we thought you were. You're just useless trash now, thrown away when it got expired." He scowled down at her with a mock pity, shaking his head. _It can't be._

"Bring her," he said to both men before walking out the door.

She saw jack and Rob untying her in the corner of her eyes, but her mind was too far away to process any of it. Riza was lost in her thoughts and completely denying everything that had just happened in the room. _It can't be. _It was only when they heaved her up that she snapped back to reality.

Riza cried out in pain after jack had lifted her from the chair by her left arm. She gasped for air and dry heaved, quickly feeling herself losing consciousness. Her knees buckled and she couldn't find the strength, nor the concentration to stand up. Jack ended up having to grab the back of her shirt instead of the dislocated arm in order to get her to move. She was half dragged out of the room and through the hallways.

They came upon a big door that Riza had never seen. When it opened, warmth enveloped her and she marvelled at the beautiful sky. The sun was already beginning to set and had a light orange tinge to it. Before she could look any more at the sun she had been deprived of for so long, Jack dragged her out toward a car.

"Get in," he grunted. Marcus was already seated in the driver's seat and had been waiting for them. When they were all inside, he started the car and drove out.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"To the place where you will die."

Her eyes widened a bit, but was quickly replaced by defeat. Everything was happening too fast and she didn't know what to believe anymore. Roy Mustang was the man she had trusted all her life. He was the man she had trusted the most. However, she wasn't too sure about it now. She wanted to trust him, but what she had heard had made her heart waver. _I don't believe this._ One thing she did know was that there was no hope in surviving this. It was three men against her. She was weak and injured. Her muscled had atrophied while she was wasting away in her dark cell. Her left arm was useless and her ribs were hurting just by breathing. _I'm going to die._

She looked out the windows and watched the scenery pass by. They were on a long road with plains of grass and some trees in the distance. The peaceful scenery didn't seem to fit with the situation, but she was thankful she could see it before her life ended.

"Where are we?" she asked quietly. Jack and Rob glanced at her but stayed silent. Marcus looked at her from the rearview mirror for a long time. She looked almost peaceful, but what he noticed was the absence of the fire in her eyes, her strong will to live.

"Keller. A town North-East of Ishbal. It was abandoned during the war," he said.

_Keller? I've never heard of it. Probably a small town. _After thirty minutes, they stopped at the side of a forest. _Inside a forest? How typical. _She was clumsily pulled out from the car and they all walked into the forest. They walked for another ten minutes. _Where are we going?_ Riza was getting frustrated. _If they want to kill me, they can do it anywhere. We're deep enough in the forest!_ She didn't like how it was dragging on.

Suddenly, she heard the sound of water. The more they walked, the more it became louder. Eventually, they came upon a clearing and they walked her up to the edge. Looking down, she saw a river cascading rapidly. The river turned into a fall a few hundred meters to her right. The thunderous sound caused by the rapids was so loud it resonated throughout her whole body. She felt herself trembling and her heart pounding harder.

"So this is where you'll kill me? Throw me off this cliff? You guys are cowards."

"We're letting the gods decide your fate. Who are we to choose whether you deserve to live or die? We don't have that power." Riza couldn't believe her ears. After all they had done, they didn't want to give the finishing blow. "Any last words?" Marcus asked.

"Yes. Just tell me this. What's the name that Victor is using in the military?"

Riza faced Marcus as she waited for the answer.

"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you that."

"I see." She turned around and faced the water again. Looking straight ahead, she could see the sun fading away in the distance, casting a red and orange hue. They let her look at it for a few more seconds before one of them walked toward her.

She quickly shut her eyes tightly, refusing to let them see any of her tears. _Why didn't you come? Roy!_

She felt a strong push before she flew.

* * *

**A.N.:** Here's the awaited chapter. Damn, you guys are really hooked on to this story aren't you? So many of you are asking for updates, lol. Pressure, pressure. But it's also fun to see you guys suffering, mwuhahaha! I hope this chapter will make things more confusing lol. You're supposed to want more to figure out the truth behind everything. I'm sort of improvising through this story actually. Well, I do have the main parts planned out, but a lot of it is made up while I write, so... sorry if it's not really fancy. And I didn't get the chance to reread this because I was too lazy. Thanks for loving this story! And I love the reviews :) Please review some more. It's encouraging! See you soon.

D


	11. Chapter 11

**ROY**

_Roy!_

Roy jolted out of his sleep with a gasp and looked around him frantically. He was alone in his private train compartment, sitting on one of the cushioned benches and leaning by the window. _Riza._ He could have sworn he had just heard her voice.

Roy took a large gulp of water from a bottle before settling back down. He wiped the thin layer of sweat off of his forehead on the sleeve of his dress shirt and closed his eyes once more. He listened to the constant rattling of the train, that had now become the background noise, but couldn't hear her voice anymore. He sighed heavily. _Wait for me Hawkeye. I'm coming._

Roy couldn't remember the last time he had eaten, but he had lost all of his appetite since he had seen the video. The more time passed, the more he felt his stomach twist into knots. His head felt heavy, but he couldn't sleep because of the dreams, the ones where he always arrived too late.

He stared blankly out the window, at the green fields gradually turning into yellow brown sand. For the past 12 hours, they had been on this train making their long journey to Ishbal, only stopping once to restock on coal. Roy looked at his pocket watch. _4:30, we should be getting there soon._

Every time he closed his eyes, he saw her face. He saw the wild, desperate look in her eyes. It was the same look she had given him during the Promised day when they had been trying to force him to perform human transmutation. '_Don't come', is that what you were trying to tell me?_ However, Roy couldn't ignore what he had seen.

Each time he thought about it, his whole body burned with rage. He had seen the state she was in, the way her eyes darted around in confusion when they had removed the bag. She was so skinny, bloody and beat up that it had taken him a few seconds to process what he had been seeing. Her skin had looked so pale that the contrast with the blood had made it so much more sickening to watch.

He had seen the fire in her eyes and the strength behind them when she had told him not to come. Even when she was knocked down by that backhand swing, she had refused to cry out. Riza was always very strong. She was the type of person who would rather endure the hardship and suffering in silence instead of letting it out. However, when she had cried out in anguish, he felt like someone had stabbed his heart with a knife. Even now, all he remembered was that scream, the one he had heard only once and swore to prevent it from ever happening again. _I failed her. I couldn't protect her._ _If only I had listened to my instincts earlier, then none of this would have happened._

* * *

_22 hours ago_

Roy had left the office early. After the new clues they had discovered, he had been too shaken to continue working. Even if he had stayed, he would've been to distracted to focus on anything other than Hawkeye. He drove himself home, for once, and quickly packed a travelling bag with his essentials and extra uniforms. When he was done, he sat on his bed debating on what he should do next. However, being too anxious and impatient, he got back up and paced his room. _I knew something was wrong! I knew it!_

There were only a few trains going to Ishbal these days, since the rails weren't completed yet. Most of them transported construction materials, workers and some citizens who were making their way back to the revived city. The trains stopped right outside of the city and you would have to take a car or a bus to get to Ishbal itself. From Central, there were only two trains per day that left for Ishbal, one at six in the morning and the other one at four in the afternoon. The trip itself took sixteen hours, including multiple stops at different cities, restocking on coal and picking up materials and supplies for the city.

Unable to stay calm, he went downstairs and into the kitchen. When he opened his fridge, he was greeted by its emptiness. _Damn, stupid new fridge._ He had recently moved into his newly built house and, unlike his predecessors, he refused to have maids and butlers to do the housework. His house was nowhere near the size of a mansion, but it wasn't small either. He like to live in a modest sized house suitable for one person. If ever he decided to get married and have children, it would still have enough space to house five people. One thing he did have was the enormous land and a big gate and fence all around it. Despite his need for privacy in his own home, the military had insisted in stationing some soldiers at his gate and around the fence.

Roy sighed and looked at his pocket watch. _6:30._ He was getting hungry, but there was no food at home. Grabbing his coat and keys, he made his way to his garage and started his car. His personal car was nothing like the black military one's, nor was it anything fancy. Roy loved driving his own car, mostly because it was so ordinary that no one ever noticed him in it. When he drove up to the gate, the soldiers immediately opened it for him and scrambled to attention.

"Sir! We didn't know you were heading out. We will be getting ready immediately." Before some of them could get into their issued cars, Roy stopped them.

"That won't be necessary. I'll be going alone." The soldiers stood tense and uncomfortable.

"Sir, we were told to never let you go somewhere without some security."

"I know, but I'm just going to get something to eat and visit someone. No one will know about this if you keep it a secret. If not, just tell whoever is in charge of this that the Fuhrer made it an order."

He nodded at the saluting soldiers before he drove off. He was feeling so restless and irritated that all he wanted to do was to eat something, have a drink and wait until they could board the train. By the time he got to his destination, the sun had already set and it was seven o'clock. He drove into an alley and parked his car. Before getting out, he searched in his glove compartment and found his old hat. He brushed off some dust and did his best to remove some creases before he adjusted it on his head, putting low so it would hide his eyes. He checked his rearview mirror and got out when it was clear. Roy casually walked in from the side door.

"Hey! You can't come in by-" Roy removed his hat and smirked.

"Good evening Madame Christmas. Long time no see."

"Roy-boy! What a pleasant surprise! You finally decided to give us a visit?" She walked over to him and gave him a ferocious hug. Like Roy had promised, he had rebuilt her old bar and made it even better.

"I'm sorry for not coming sooner. I've been really busy lately and things are just very hectic right now."

"Uh huh, I'm sure that's true Roy-boy. You can't expect anything less from being the Fuhrer you know? Come over here. Sit down." She settled him into a chair by the wall with a little table in front of him before sitting across from him. "So, what brings the almighty Fuhrer here tonight? You usually just give me a call."

They were sitting in a corner of the back room, out of view from the other customers since he couldn't really be seen in such a place. She looked at him expectantly, eyes boring holes through his skull. Finally, he looked away and joked, "I'm so hungry! I just moved into my new house and there's no food anywhere. Please feed me!"

Madame Christmas laughed out loud. "Still the bum aren't you? Dragging yourself in here when you want to be fed. As if you don't make enough money nowadays. Fine! I'll make you your favorite special club sandwich."

Roy's face lit up and he grinned at her. "Thanks!"

"But don't think you're getting out of this one, Roy-boy. I know you're hiding something. You wouldn't have risked coming here just for a meal. We'll talk about it after you eat." She gave him a reproachful look before she entered the kitchen, leaving him with his nervous chuckle.

_Damn her and her intuition!_ His step-mother always knew when something was bothering him. However, it was also his fault for having the habit of stumbling in here whenever he was in a bad situation or was stuck with something. Sometimes, a few good advices was just what he needed to boost up his morale and put him back in the right track.

After a few minutes, with step-mother came back with hot club sandwich completed with a drink. "Thanks, you're the best."

"Oh I know." She chuckled. "The girls have been waiting for you to come visit. Do you want me to tell them you're here?"

Roy chewed his food and pondered. He felt bad for not being able to come here like he used to in the past, but it was so much harder now to do anything normal. He had an image to protect and he couldn't risk being seen in this type of bar, with girls everywhere. He had already given up his player image a while ago and was determined to rid himself of that reputation.

"No, maybe next time," he finally said. Madame Christmas nodded in understanding. Roy continued eating his supper, while Madame Christmas smoked her cigarette and made small talk with him, catching up with all the things they had missed.

"So," she said when he had finished his plate. "What's the thing you came here to talk about? You're gonna confess to miss Elizabeth?" Roy's eyes went wide and he choked on his drink, sputtering and coughing when he tried to speak.

"No, no," he said, embarrassed.

"Ok, relax Roy. I was just teasing you." Madame Christmas smiled wickedly and chuckled, making Roy pout angrily.

"Well, it is about her." His face took a serious look. "She's been missing for over a month now and we've just found out today that she'd been kidnapped."

"What? How could you only find this out now after all this time?" she exclaimed.

"I know, I know, but that's not the whole story. It's more complicated than that." Madame Christmas listened attentively while he explained the whole story, interrupting him at certain parts for more details.

"These people are good. They've really thought this through," she said at the end. "So now, you're waiting to hop on the first train in the morning?"

"Yeah. We're stopping at a town called Hillion Valley, right outside of Ishbal. Then, we'll work our way from there. We don't have any other clues apart from that van that they left there."

"I have some contacts over there. I'll ask them if they know anything about it." Roy looked at her questioningly.

"Just how many contacts do you have?"

"My network goes far and wide Roy-boy. It existed before you were even born." She smirked at him.

"Alright, thanks a lot Madame Christmas. It means a lot to me. " _She means a lot for me._

"You're welcome. You should head on home and get some sleep. I doubt you'll be having much of it in the next few days."

"You're right, but I'm just going to have another drink before I go."

"Aren't you driving? You know it's bad to drink and drive. You of all people should know about the laws of this country."

"This much alcohol barely has any effect on me. It's just two small glasses." She gave him a displeased look and shook her head.

Before he had the chance to argue back, the side door from which he had entered earlier swung open. Roy cursed inwardly and quickly reached for his hat, hoping to be fast enough to hide his face. Madame Christmas bolted up, clearly angry about this sudden interruption. However, the panic drained away when he heard the person's voice.

"Chief! We've been looking all over for you!" Havoc said with relief.

"What's the meaning of this, boy? Don't you have any manners? You can't just bolt in from our back door." Madame Christmas scolded Havoc.

"I'm really, really sorry about this Madame Christmas. It's just that there's something very urgent for the Fuhrer at the moment and it can't wait." Havoc looked determined to stay strong in front of her, but the sweat on his forehead was giving him away.

"What is it Havoc?" Roy was already up and ready to go. None of his subordinates ever came to look for him after work hours. He knew exactly how much all of them hated working overtime, not to mention the fact that they had looked for him here of all places. No one other than his direct team knew of this place. It was a secret hideout used only in extreme circumstances. Because of that, Roy knew that whatever kind of news they had for him was of extreme importance.

"We have to get back to HQ. Fuery says there's a video for you." Havoc said, knowing that Roy must've already shared most of the story with his step-mother. Roy nodded at him and looked back to Madame Christmas.

"Don't let me keep them waiting Roy. Go!" She gave him a gentle pat on the back and smiled.

"Thank you for the meal, Madame Christmas. I'll come back as soon as I can."

"And I'll give you a call if anything comes up."

Roy jumped into the driver's seat and Havoc sat on the passenger's side. "Where are the others?" Roy asked once the doors were closed.

"Already heading to HQ. This was the last place we looked for you, so we were sure you'd be here."

"What exactly is going on? What's this video we're talking about?" Roy was driving a little faster then permitted, but he didn't really care at the moment. HQ wasn't that far away and he was having an extremely bad feeling about all of this.

"I'm not exactly sure myself. All I know is that Fuery was looking for you, but you had already left the office. He went to your house but you weren't there, so he called all of us to help look for you. I haven't met up with him yet, but he seemed really agitated on the phone. He said there was a video cassette sent for you... about Hawkeye." Roy twitched slightly at the mention of her name and his grip tightened on the wheel. _I have a bad feeling._

By the time they drove up to HQ, it was around eight thirty. Everyone had already left for the day except for the guards at the front, but no one got in their way when they had seen who was in the car. Roy and Havoc were walking briskly down the deserted halls toward their offices when they spotted Falman waiting for them in front of the doors.

"Sir!" he saluted absentmindedly. "We're all waiting in a room downstairs. Fuery is preparing the video in a player right now and told me to bring you there when you arrived."

"Lead us there." They wasted no time going into the same room Fuery had seen the video the first time. When they entered, Breda and Fuery looked up and told Havoc to close the door behind him. Everyone, except for Fuery, seemed to be having the same dreadful feelings, creating a very tense atmosphere in the room. To make it worse, Fuery was sweating and much too pale to be normal. _What made him so disturbed?_

When Fuery had finally gotten everything ready, he turned to Roy and said in a quiet voice, "it's a message to you from the people who took Hawkeye." Fuery looked at him with a helpless look and swallowed his saliva.

"Play it Fuery."

Roy couldn't remember a time in his life where he had been more shocked than he was the moment where the man had unveiled Hawkeye. He knew she had been kidnapped, but seeing her in that state made reality crash down on him all in one shot. How could he have been so naive, thinking that she would not be harmed and tortured? Just knowing the fact that Hawkeye had been missing this whole time was shocking enough to put him in a semi-conscious state of denial. It was something so unfathomable that he refused to believe it. Now, he was staring at the image of the strong woman he once knew, the strong woman that was still in his head, the woman who was untouchable.

It was surreal. Under the mess, he saw her bones, her open wounds and the sickeningly bright red that contrasted with her pale skin. Her hair, once a golden yellow and always perfectly kept, was almost a dirty brown, with dried blood and tangles everywhere. Watching this image, he was studying her in a trance, barely hearing what the other man was saying. His heart leaped and he clashed back with reality when her eyes found his. Those eyes that were always looking at him.

Roy clenched his fists and and jaw, restraining himself from making an outburst. They all watched in dead silence as the man walked over to Riza and asked her to say something. Roy stared at her eyes, knowing what she wanted him to do. He felt himself wince when she did and confirmed what he had read through her eyes when she told him not to come. He jumped when the man suddenly hit her, making her fall to the floor. _Bastard! Shit!_ He felt helpless, standing there watching her getting hurt, knowing he couldn't do anything about it. All he could do was glare dangerously at the man.

He frowned when he saw the man position himself on top of her and take out a knife. _No! Don't!_ Roy was sweating and his muscles were so tense they were trembling. He watched without blinking as he saw him grab her arm and right before he was about to twist it, he saw the look of fear in her eyes, an almost pleading look that went unanswered. The scream permeated the room.

"You have five days to find us and to come get her, alone. If you don't come alone, then she will die on the spot. You better come fast, because I can't guarantee that all her joints will be intact. Good luck." He heard the last message loud and clear.

The screen went black and only the sound of the rolling tape was heard. No one dared to move, too stunned by what they had just witnessed. Roy let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding and walked head down to the back of the room. _This can't be happening._

"Sir?" Fuery asked cautiously with a worried look. The other men looked at their leader in the same way. They were all angry and greatly affected by this, but they knew how much harder it must've been for Roy.

Roy stood still with his back to them. _How could this happen?_ Riza had looked like a corpse that could barely keep her head straight. The situation had suddenly just spiralled into a living hell for him. His fists were clenched so tight that his nails were digging into his palms. He slammed a fist to the wall beside him and let out an anguished roar.

Breathing heavily, he quieted down and cursed silently.

"Shit! How could this happen?" he asked himself.

"Chief," Havoc called out to him.

Roy turned back to the other men. They must've seen the look on his face because none of them dared to speak. They knew all too well how dangerous he could become in that state, not that he would ever do anything to harm them. He was like a ticking time bomb, waiting for the time to explode. They knew that none of them could stop him from doing what he wanted. Once he was determined to this extent to do something, very few people could convince him otherwise.

He closed his eyes and took a slow breath. "Fuery,"

"Yes sir!" he said with a shaky and alert voice.

"When did we receive this video?"

Fuery's mood suddenly dropped some more degrees down. "Four days ago, sir" he said despairingly.

Roy could hear the men rustling with anxiety. They all knew what that meant. _One day left, huh? _He opened his eyes and showed them his strong will. If he wanted to have a chance in saving her, he definitely couldn't start by showing the others hopelessness.

"That leaves us with one day. We don't know the time limit, so the sooner the better. Our train leaves at 06:00. By the time we board it, I want us to narrow down the location as best as possible. It must be in the vicinity of Hillion Valley and Ishbal." He looked at the men and was pleased with their new found determination. "Her life rests in our hands. We're going to save her and bring her back home." Finally he added with malice, "And we'll teach them who they're messing with."

The team worked non stop all through the night. Calls were being made to all the military posts in every village, town and city around Ishbal. Under the Fuhrer's direct orders, people were being woken up and were vigorously investigating this case. Roy stayed in the same room, rewatching the video over and over again.

"Don't come, it's a trap!" he paused it. _Don't tell me to do something impossible Hawkeye. You should know better than anyone that I'll definitely come for you. I'm coming._ Roy studied the video, trying to find some clues to her location. Unfortunately, there wasn't much details in the background that could help him.

"Sir," Roy turned around to see Falman standing by the open door. "The orders have been issued. We're tracing everything linked to anybody with the name of Marcus, but it's going to be difficult because there are so many of them. Luckily we have narrowed it down to a specific region in Amestris."

"The question is: is it his real name or just an alias? This is going to take too long. We don't have that much time. Come here Falman. Watch this with me." Falman came to stand beside him while Roy rewinded the tape before playing it again. He paused it in the middle of the introduction.

"At first, it's hard to notice anything particular about the room, but the more you look at it, the more you realize that the place is peculiar. Unlike most houses and buildings in Ishbal or in surrounding towns, this room seems to be made completely out of cement."

"You're right!" Falman said with amazement. "The buildings over there are usually made out of wood, dirt mixtures, rocks and other things, but rarely completely out of cement. You can see how the walls and floor are bare, with no paint, posters or anything. It looks very old too, if you take in all the cracks. It must've been a very secured building with a solid foundation."

"Yes, that's right. What do you suppose this building is, Falman?"

"Well, there could be a few possibilities, but I think it also has to be a big place since I doubt someone would've built such a place in the size of a house. In that case, it could be a school, a hospital, a prison, or anything in the same range. But I doubt-"

"A prison." Falman looked at Roy with surprise. He had blurted out those words but kept an intense gaze on the screen. "It's a prison."

"How do you know for sure?"

"Look," he went closer to the screen and pointed to the small window in the door. "It's blurry, but you can see some bars behind the door." Falman squinted his eyes to get a better look.

"It's true, but it's really blurry. We can't be too sure about this. What if it's something else that looks like prison cell bars?" Falman questioned with hesitation and doubt.

_It's true. It could be something else, but..._

"I just have a hunch that it's a prison. I just know it. I don't think I'd be a hospital, no matter how old the building is. It's just too plain. On the other hand, a school might be a possibility. It'd be in a poor part of the city though, considering the amount of effort they put into making it... hospitable for children." He turned to Falman and said, "Have everyone look for nearby prisons and schools, abandoned or not. I want a background search of each possible location up until today. Deploy as many people as you can to verify each place without getting seen. We need to have a place confirmed by tomorrow."

"Yes sir!" Falman quickly left the room to inform the others of their new orders.

Roy continued watching the video till the end. His arms were crossed and his hands clenched tightly on his arms. He etched Marcus's face in his mind, making sure to memorize every feature of his face. _You'll regret what you've done. I'll make sure of it._

Roy walked back to their office through the dark empty hallways. Every step seemed to fall heavily, leaving a light echo resonating in the silence. _I have all of this, but I couldn't even protect her._ He had finally achieved his dreams. He was the Fuhrer of this nation, the most powerful figure in the country, but by becoming this person, he lost sight of the people in his surroundings. He could barely recount the times when he had spoken to her in private after he had ascended. Roy scowled at that thought. _This is not the time to rue._

"Sir! We have another lead!" Havoc cried out hopefully the moment he entered their office. The men were all talking on different phone lines, communicating and getting updates from the officers in the towns and cities around Ishbal. "A man saw the people from the white van switch cars and drive east."

"Good." Roy walked over to a desk that had a maps on top. He looked at a few and picked a map of a close-up of Eastern Amestris. There were four towns in the close proximity of Ishbal. _Two North, one West and one East huh?_ Hillion Valley was North of Ishbal. _If they switched cars there, then they must've gone to the other town close by._ Chilton was another town on the northern outskirts of Ishbal. It was a large town with a bustling market that had developed in the past year. _It's too crowded._ He couldn't omit the other towns, nor Ishbal either. However, it would've been really difficult for them to bring a kidnapped person to a large town where the chances of being seen was much higher. Their best chance to hide would be to go to a more secluded area or a quieter town.

Roy breathed loudly through is nostrils in frustration. _Something's amiss. _He searched through the pile of maps again and came up on an older map, dating before the Ishbal war. His eyebrows quirked in surprise when he discovered some smaller towns that were not on the other map. _Keller, Varjos and Cerney._ Those three smaller towns seemed to be aligned at a similar distance from a river.

"Falman," Roy called out. Falman was immediately at his side. "What can you tell me about these three towns?" He pointed them out to him and waited as Falman ruminated.

"From what I remember, these three towns, including Chilton, formed a popular trade route for merchants coming from the East, especially from Ishbal. They would stop at each of these towns to sell and buy, then they would continue on their way into the other parts of Amestris. However, they got caught up in the Ishbal war and ended up getting completely destroyed, leaving them deserted until this day." Indeed, the towns were aligned in a strategic route favouring and attracting businesses. The river running along the same axis promoted fishing businesses and recreational activities. Roy made a mental note to look into the revival of these towns.

"Send some people to each of these cities immediately. They're all close to Hillion Valley, not to mention deserted. Make sure they look for all the buildings made of cement. Once again, make sure they send some professionals. We don't want Marcus to know I've sent some people to snoop around." _Hawkeye's life is on the line. _He didn't need to say it out loud. They all knew the consequences of negligence and their inability to stay under cover in this mission. No one dared to take chances or to be reckless.

Roy looked at the clock on the wall. _2 AM._ We don't have much time left. Roy hated being stuck in Central when he should've been in the East personally looking for her. They wanted him to come alone, but the problem was getting there on time.

Frustrated with his uselessness in this dire situation, he stalked to his office, looked through a little booklet and dialed a number.

"Central train station, how may I help you?" a man answered lazily after the third ring.

"This is Fuhrer Roy Mustang," Roy heard a gasp and frantic rustling on the other side. When he knew he had the man's attention, he continued, "I need an express train to Ishbal as soon as possible."

"B-But Fuhrer sir. Nobody is here right now. The train won't be ready until 5:30 for boarding. And what about the other passengers?" the man asked nervously.

"I'm not asking you to do it. I'm telling you to get it ready in two hours. It's an order. Call the workers in now and get them to ready the train. I'll take care of their over-time pay and the reimbursement of all the passengers' tickets. Tell them it was an emergency that could not wait. Is that clear?" Roy asked aggressively, leaving the man no choice but to accept.

"We'll be leaving at 04:00 sharp," he added.

"Yes sir!"

Roy went back out to join the others.

"Sir, they've sent some people out to each town and they're searching as fast as they can," Breda informed him.

"Good. The train's going to leave at 4, so wrap things up here and go get ready to leave. Tell them we'll be communicating with them from the train."

"I thought the train departed at 6?" Havoc asked.

"The Fuhrer ordered a four o'clock train and he got it. I'll be leaving first." The others just watched him leave with disbelief. Roy always found opportunities to exert, or almost abuse, his powers, which they all knew he enjoyed greatly.

* * *

"Sir, we'll be arriving at Hillion Valley in 15 minutes. There are already people at the station ready to escort you to the military base." Roy nodded at Havoc and thanked him. _I probably look just as bad as them._ None of them had gotten much sleep. Although they had assured Roy that they were taking care of the search mission so he could get a bit of rest, he found it impossible to sleep. There was a steady flow of adrenaline constantly pumping through him whenever he thought about Riza.

A few hours ago, they had gotten a call saying that the search teams had found traces of human activities in Keller and Varjos. They couldn't confirm any human presence, but they didn't want to pry any deeper in case they were found out. _Two choices. Which one is it?_ The rest of the details were going to be given to them when they arrived at the base.

Just as Havoc had said, Roy was greeted by a full escort when he got off the train. A soldier walked up to him and saluted sharply.

"Fuhrer Mustang sir! I am Major Brad Langly, commander of Hillion Valley's military branch. It is an honour to welcome you sir."

"Thank you for escorting us to the base Major Langly. I'm very grateful and impressed for what your team has done in such short notice. I'm sorry it was so sudden."

"Not at all sir. The soldiers were very motivated to help and complete this mission. It is a direct threat to the military, so it concerned all of us too. Without further ado, we should get to the base to discuss about the possible locations of Lieutenant Colonel Hawkeye."

The military base was a relatively small one and newly built. Roy was brought into Major Langly's office the moment they arrived. On his desk were old maps of the two town. Each map had a building circled in red.

"In Keller, the building that matched the descriptions the most was this abandoned prison. It was built twenty years before the Ishbal war and it used to be a big prison for dangerous and high-profiled criminals." Langly switched maps and pointed to another building. "In Varjos, we found this building. It used to be an primary school. It's over fifty years old and smaller than the prison in Keller, but it was still entirely built with cement. These are our two best guesses."

"What about Cerney and Chilton? Nothing there?" Roy asked to make sure.

"Chilton has been going through a lot of renovations and is changing every day. Most of the old building have already been brought down to build newer ones. None of their buildings resemble the description. Cerney, on the other hand, was completely destroyed. All of the big buildings, including the ones in cement, were all destroyed," Langly explained.

_Prison or school?_ Roy thought. He was debating all the possibilities and reasons why it would be either one of them. In the end, he decided to stick to his instincts and chose to prison.

"How far away is Keller?" he asked.

"If we drive fast, we can get there in 35 to 40 minutes," Langly answered.

"And what about Varjos from Keller?"

"20 minutes."

"I'm going to Keller first. If it's not there then I'll head strait to Varjos."

"Sir! Are you sure it's Keller?" Fuery exclaimed, fatigue and anxiety showing clearly on his face.

"No, but it's a risk I'm taking. We have a 50/50 chance of getting it right, but I have a feeling it's Keller." He turned to Langly and said, "Prepare a car. I'll be heading out immediately."

"Sir, I'll send some troops with you as support. This is obviously a trap. You can't go in there alone," Langly argued.

"If they so much as see another person with me, they'll kill her. I'm going there alone."

"But-"

"I'm going there alone." This time, Langly didn't dare to retort after having witnessed the Fuhrer's anger.

"Sir, I still think we should have some troops on standby at the outskirts of the town. We won't be seen by them, but we'd be able to respond fast enough if it's necessary," Breda said.

"I made this for you." Fuery gave him a small rectangular device. "It's like a radio transmitter. I already set it to the same wavelength as ours, so if ever you need us to come, just press that button and talk in it. We'll be waiting."

Roy couldn't help but smirk at his team. No matter what the situation was, they always understood him the best and acted in accordance. He was extremely proud to have them on his side.

"Thank you everyone, for your hard work. Now, let's go get Hawkeye back."

Roy drove at full speed, desperate to get there as fast as possible. _I'm coming Hawkeye._ He was followed by four other cars, making a total of eighteen soldier who were going to stay on standby outside the town. After twenty minutes of driving, he saw them slow down and stop in the distance behind him. _Good. This is far enough from Keller._ They didn't know whether the enemy had binoculars or not, but they weren't going to take a risk.

_This is it._ Roy drove for another ten minutes and arrived at the abandoned town. He followed the map to the location and drove as deep into the town as he could. He had to stop when the road was blocked by crumbled buildings and walked the rest of the way there. He saw the prison from a block away. It was big and still standing.

Roy pulled on his gloves, making sure they were tightly fitted and walked in the shadows of the buildings around until he was close enough to the prison. He listened for any noise and looked around for any sign of life, but there was nothing. _It's too quiet. _Still, he stayed cautious and approached an entrance slowly. He infiltrated the place stealthily like he had been taught a long time ago in his military training. He walked through the long corridors, all aligned with empty and rusted prison cells.

Roy was beginning to dread the outcome and willed himself to go faster despite the possible danger he was facing. After many twists and turns, looking into many different rooms, he came upon a door similar to the one he saw in the video. _This is it!_ He crouched against the wall and listened carefully for a few seconds. When he heard nothing, he opened the door and burst in quickly with his fingers poised to snap.

Empty. There was not a soul in sight, but this was definitely the right room. The chair was under the hanging light bulb. The ropes laid in a heap on the ground around the chair. However, the thing that ultimately confirmed the place was the dried blood on the ground and the chair. _Shit! Where is she!_ His heart was beating fast and he frantically looked around the room for something, but it was bare except for a piece of paper on top of an old wooden desk. He was there in two big strides and picked it up quickly.

_'Too late Roy Mustang'_

Roy's hand shook in disbelief. _How could this be! It's only 5:30. The day hasn't ended yet!_ He held the paper in a tight grip as he whirled around, searching for someone, hoping he had missed something. He kneeled beside the chair and dropped his head.

"Hawkeye," he whispered with a choked voice. His hands closed into fists, crumpling the paper in the process. Suddenly, he stood up, seething with anger.

"MARCUS!" he yelled as loud as he could. He stalked out to the hallway and said loudly, "Where is she? I came just like you asked me to. I came alone! Where are you? Where is Riza Hawkeye?" When he received no answers, he roared and said in a louder voice, "Come out Marcus! Where are you?" _I'm going to kill you!_

Roy was blinded with rage. There was no one in sight. They had already left, taking Riza with them. He didn't even know if she was still alive. Marcus had said that they would kill her if he didn't arrive on time. She might already be dead by now. _How can they do this? They didn't even give a time limit! It's still early!_ Roy was now practically running around the place, calling out Riza's name. _Please, please let me find her._

Roy was breathing hard by the time he arrived at the last hallway. Unlike the other places in this prison, this sector was filled with solid metal doors. They were high security cells, used for solitary confinement.

"Hawkeye!" he called out desperately, his voice hoarse from all the screaming. He walked down the hall, checking left and right at each empty cell. He would push open every door that was closed with a hint of hope, but he was always greeted by a dark, empty cell. Finally, he reached the end of the hallway and also the last cell.

Roy bit the inside of his lower lip apprehensively. _Please be in here._ It was the last place to check and his last ray of hope. Slowly, he pushed the door back. It was empty. The floor had dark stains. There was an old, ripped blanked in a corner and a toilet in another. He noticed some paper cups and some plates thrown in another corner of the room. Soiled bandages and an empty plastic bottle of antiseptic littered the floor. _She was here._

Roy fell to the ground in despair and stared at the floor. _I'm too late._

He didn't know for how long he had been sitting there, at the entrance of that last cell, but his mind didn't seem to work anymore. The place was dead silent and starting to get cold. He could tell the sun had already set because it was very dark inside the building. However, he couldn't summon any energy to move or to think about the next course of action. It was already too late. He had lost. _They've killed her. I was too late._

A static noise and a voice broke the silence. "Sir! Are you alright? Did you find Hawkeye? It's been three hours! Where are you?"

At first he didn't move to answer.

"Sir!"

His hand moved ever so slowly toward his belt. Lifelessly, he lifted the transmitter close to his mouth and said, "I was too late." His voice was hollow and the will to fight was lost from his eyes as he was engulfed by the darkness of the night.

* * *

**A.N.:** Sorry for the late update. I hope this chapter came out ok. Sorry if there are some errors here and there. Didn't really reread it yet... some other time. Actually, I would say the first part of the story is done, then comes the other part. What happened to Riza? What's gonna happen to Roy? All that will be answered in later chapters. Unfortunately, I will be very busy this semester, so I can't promise fast updates, but I'll try my best. Please keep following this story :) and drop a review if you have any comments! ;)

D


	12. Chapter 12

**ROY**

"We've caught one of them sir, the small one. The other one escaped, but we're on his tail. We won't let him get away," Havoc said through the phone.

"Good. Bring him to Central for questioning as fast as possible. I have some questions I'd like to ask him personally. Put the city in lockdown, make sure nobody leaves until you find the other one. Use as many people as you need to catch him," Roy answered. "Any news of Marcus?"

"No sir, just these two. It seems like they broke off and separated after they left Keller." Havoc sighed angrily.

"Alright. Call me later with updates on the situation."

_East City huh? You can't hide from me no matter how big the city is. _Roy leaned back in his chair and stared at his desk. His small stack of paperwork was clumsily sitting on one side of his desk, while the other side contained a big folder with papers and pictures sticking out of every side. It was Hawkeye's investigation case.

For the last two months they had been actively searching for the three men responsible for Riza's kidnapping. It was only last week that they received a call from Eastern HQ stating that there had been some sightings of a couple of men who matched the drawings. Roy had immediately sent out his team to East City, but not before giving strict orders to Eastern HQ to control the city's exits by any means of transportation. After working so hard at finding some clues out of almost nothing, he definitely wouldn't want to risk letting them escape.

Roy stared solemnly at empty space. Being sound proof, both from inside and outside, his private office was completely silent. With most of his team gone, he found the silence too cold and lonely. _If Hawkeye was here, what would she do?_ Everyday, he would think of her. He would think of her just being beside him. The more he thought about her, the more he discovered new things about her that he hadn't even bothered to pay attention to before. He had been so used to her constant presence and efficiency that he had forgotten all the little things she used to do for him that made his work so much more bearable and easy.

Now that she wasn't by his side, he could see just how much she had helped him get through his days. For example, in the morning, his steaming cup of coffee didn't magically appear on his desk the moment he walked into the office. His paperwork wasn't always there for him to sign them when he arrived, but if they were, it was almost always messy and unsorted. Sometimes, luckily, he had conflicting schedules, which brought even more trouble for everyone at the office. All in all, the little things that Riza always took care of meant a lot for of them and, not surprisingly, kept them all on the right track at the right pace.

_In eight hours I'll get some answers._ They had finally caught one of them after all their efforts. The last two months were difficult, very difficult, for all of them to get through. The other guys were always staying strong and hopeful, but he knew they were feeling the same way as he did on the inside. He appreciated their efforts to try to keep him hopeful, but sometimes he found it unbearably difficult to put on a fake mask and to pretend like he was alright when he clearly wasn't on the inside. It didn't help with the fact that the frustration and negative emotions kept building up inside of him, waiting for him to explode at any moment.

He knew he hadn't been himself lately and he knew he had taken it out on them sometimes when he shouldn't have. Despite his mood swings, his subordinates' loyalty toward him didn't seem to waver. They understood his situation and continued to support him with all their might, working long hours to fill in the gaps of Hawkeye's case and helpng him with all of his responsibilities and duties. Roy knew that without their support he wouldn't have been able to get back up, not after what they had found that night.

* * *

_Flashback_

He could hear them calling him and getting closer and closer.

"Fuhrer Mustang! Fuhrer!" He could hear all of them; Havoc, Fuery, Breda and Falman. Finally he saw the light at the other end of the hallway out of the corner of his eyes. The men carrying the lamps were coming toward him. He couldn't tell who they were since his eyes weren't adjusted to the light, but he knew his men were among them.

"Fuhrer!" Havoc exclaimed when they finally saw him, but his state must've worried them since they all dashed toward him.

Roy was sitting on the floor, his back leaning against the wall facing the cell. He was staring straight ahead at nothing in particular. His face was devoid of emotions, but his tense facial muscles and his slight frown reflected the distress inside of him.

"Fuhrer Mustang," Fuery said quietly. Roy turned and looked at them. He couldn't see the other people behind them, but he knew others were present. Havoc quickly offered him a hand, pleading him to get up with his eyes. _I can't let other people see me like this, right?_ He understood that, but it didn't mean that he cared about it at the moment. He was exhausted, both physically and mentally. His failure had taken the rest of his energy away and all he wanted to do was to be left alone.

"Chief," Havoc said with insistence. Roy noticed the determination mixed with sorrow in the intonation of his voice. _Leave it to them to care about my reputation_, he thought sarcastically. Finally, he took his hand and was strongly pulled up.

"Thanks," he said under his breath, so only his men could hear.

"Lieutenant Colonel Hawkeye wasn't here?" Breda asked.

"No. When I arrived, they were already gone. They left a note saying that I was too late." Roy answered monotonously.

Suddenly, the lights came on in the hallways, making them all squint and blink rapidly in order to adjust their eyes.

"We've found the switch!" Someone yelled from afar.

"I want a team to search every inch of this building and another one searching the vicinity," Roy immediately barked out orders. "Any clues found must be directly reported to me!"

"Yes sir!" everyone said in unison before scurrying away.

"You four stay." When they turned around to face him, he extended his hand toward Breda, "pass me that lamp."

Roy took the lamp and walked to the entrance of the last cell. He held it at arm's length, illuminating the small room. The others peeked inside from behind him.

"I think this is where they kept her," he said aloud. He heard Fuery gasp and the others moving around to get a better look. "None of the other cells in this building look like they've been inhabited except for this one."

"Bandages and an empty antiseptic bottle? She must've had a serious wound," Breda mused.

"That could kill her if left untreated," Falman finished. _That's right. Just what did they do to her?_ Roy's hand clenched tightly on the lamp's handle in a poor effort to contain his anger.

They all stared in silence, taking in the details. The foul scent coming from the room was bad enough at the doorway. He couldn't even imagine how it must've been for her to be locked in there for such a long time.

Roy took a careful step inside and squatted, looking at something on the floor. Apart from the dark blood stains, there were some white smears here and there.

"What's that?" Fuery asked. The white markings formed a slight arch with another small one on the side, almost perpendicular to it. Roy studied them carefully. He raised the lamp a little higher and saw another similar pattern two feet away.

"Hold this." He gave the lamp to Falman who was squatting next to him. He removed his glove and touched the floor. It was cold and rough. Suddenly, he started scratching his nails on the ground sideways, in the same shape as the other markings.

"Oh!" Fuery exclaimed, "how did you know it was that?"

"I thought of Hawkeye. She hates having long nails." _I knew her since she was a child and I've never seen her grow out her nails. _The thought of her being so close but so far away at the same time saddened him. _How could they have kept her here?_ He looked to his right and saw the old rag that was probably a blanket. He clenched his fists and got up. "Secure this area. Take pictures and gather the evidence."

"Yes sir," they saluted him. Before he left, he took a last look at the dark room. _They kept her in the darkness all by herself._ He couldn't even imagine the state she was in, to be left alone for such a long time in that cell, not knowing how many days had passed. Roy clenched his jaws hard, but it was getting more and more difficult to restrain himself from burning down the whole place.

Roy made his way back to the room in which the video had been filmed. He leaned against the desk and stared at the chair, imagining her sitting there. _If only I could've made it in time._ Many people were working around him, but no one dared to interrupt his thoughts, especially not when his eyes were that dark and murderous.

"Sir, we've found something," a soldier declared nervously. Roy nodded and followed him wordlessly. He was brought to another cell, different from the one she was kept in, with vertical bars on all three sides and was illuminated.

He gingerly stepped inside the cell when he saw the mess it was in. The whole floor was practically painted with dried blood. He watched in horror as he imagined what could've happened.

"And this, sir" he was brought out of his thoughts when he looked at the owner of the voice who was pointing to something on the floor, which was tossed carelessly to the side. Roy instantly knew what it was, but was hoping he was wrong. He walked over to it with dread in his heart. He slowly went on his knees in front the object.

"We believe it's the skin of a punching bag, judging from the texture and the thickness of the material," the same man said quietly.

Roy already knew that. He lifted the opening and took a look inside. It was caked in blood and a sickening smell came out of it. Roy closed his eyes and let go of it. He could feel his eyes prickle and clenched them shut, willing the tears away. The lack of sleep, the stress and all the gruesome scenes he was witnessing was starting to be a big emotional burden. _Stop it Roy. Control yourself._

He got back up and looked at the ceiling. A large hook was drilled into the center. Everyone looked but nobody made any comments. It was more than obvious what had happened here. Roy looked away and made his way out of the cell.

"I'll leave it to you to take care of things here," he told the soldier who had brought him here.

He walked back to the main room more drained than ever before. He was beyond exhausted, but he couldn't rest his mind. _Where are you Hawkeye? Are you still alive?_ He had gotten word from a soldier outside that there was nothing and no one in the vicinity. _They must've already left for some time before I even arrived._ The more he thought about the situation, the more it confused him. Hawkeye had told him that it was a trap, but he didn't understand why they would've set all of this up and left before he even got here. Something was amiss. _Did they just want to target someone important to me?_

Roy's head was pounding painfully. By the time Havoc and the others came to get him, it was already past midnight.

"Sir, we should head back to Hillion Valley and call it a night. Nothing else has been found. We'll continue the search tomorrow" Havoc said. _She hasn't been found._ He didn't know whether it was a good or a bad news. _She might still be alive._ He looked at all of them and saw just how tired they were. _I probably look just as bad._ He knew nothing else would be found no matter how long they looked.

"Right. Let's go back."

Back at Hillion Valley, they quickly checked into a hotel. Roy, obviously, had a suite to himself, while the others shared rooms. He didn't bother to turn on any lights. He headed directly to the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror. _I look like shit._ The more he stared at himself, the more he got frustrated and angry.

He washed his face roughly with cold water. He looked at himself again. _Too late. _He grimaced in guilt. _You failed her. You only had to be there on time, but you couldn't even do that._ His throat was constricted and his breathing difficult. He collapsed on his knees and laid his forehead against the side of the counter. For the first time since Maes had been murdered, he sobbed quietly, letting his anguish, guilt and fury out through his tears.

When Havoc came to get him the next morning, he was in a disheveled state, still dressed in the same clothes as the day before. Havoc quickly invited himself in and closed the door behind him.

"Chief, you should wash up and get dressed." Havoc had bags beneath his eyes, showing just how much sleep he had gotten himself. Roy stood there looking at him miserably.

"I've been thinking all night Havoc. I've been thinking... about everything. They kidnapped her and tortured her. It was all to get to me, but I couldn't make it in time. I failed her." Havoc looked at him with a saddened expression. "Tell me. What should I do now Havoc? I don't know what to do anymore."

"Stop talking like that!" Havoc raised his voice angrily. None of them had ever seen him this way, so desperately lost. At a time like this, when they had suffered a hard blow, the most important thing was to stay strong and to support each other. If their leader couldn't even do that then it would affect the rest of them.

"She's alive," Havoc continued, "we haven't found a body yet so you can't just lose hope like that. The others also depend on you for strength. We need you to be strong. Hawkeye would've wanted you to continue like you've always had. She's the one who had been waiting the longest for you to reach the position you're in today. You can't fail her now. You are the Fuhrer. It's your job to order us to find her and this Marcus guy!" Havoc was practically screaming.

Roy looked away, feeling ashamed of himself. Not only had he given up hope in finding her, he had also failed as a leader in the most crucial time.

"I'm sorry Havoc." Havoc stared at him, then sighed.

"Me too. I'm sorry for lashing out at you. We're all stressed out to the max right now. She's like our older sister too you know. We're just as lost as you are, but you've never failed to lead us so we're all depending on you right now."

"I know. Can you give me some time to get ready?"

"Sure boss. I'll wait right outside the door."

They spent the day at the military HQ going through the informations and the clues they had gathered, but in the end, they were still at a dead end. They had to take the train back to Central at the end of the day, since Roy could not afford to be away for any longer. The Fuhrer's sudden departure had disorganized his whole schedule, including some important meetings he had missed during the past two days.

A portrait of Marcus had been made and sent to every military and police office, but a week had passed without any news. The fact that he had to continue on with his duties like nothing had happened frustrated him even more. Every night he would look things over, trying to find a hole or a detail that they might've missed. He began to eat and sleep less, which was starting to show and worried everyone around him. When one of them made a comment about it, he tried to change, but it didn't help that much. _I have no time to eat and sleep. There's too much to do._ Roy Mustang was becoming a workaholic.

"Roy Mustang," he answered his private phone.

"It's me Roy-boy"

"Ah, Madame Christmas, how are you?" Roy asked, sincerely glad to hear his step-mother's voice.

"I should be the one to ask you that. I've been hearing some nasty rumour about our dear Fuhrer. Something about him slowly wasting away. Is that true? Have you been sleeping and eating properly, boy?" she asked sternly. Roy couldn't help but chuckle slightly. _Leave it to her to worry about my health._

"I've just been caught up with some things lately," Roy gave a sad excuse, not feeling like explaining.

"I know you've been researching non stop about Elizabeth's case, but don't forget you're not the only one doing that. Your whole team, oh heck, you've practically got the whole country searching for this man. Trust in them a bit more and get some food and sleep!"

"I know, I know. I just can't help it. I want to find her," he added the last part quietly. _I want to know that she's alive._

"I know. That's why I'm calling you." Roy's eyes snapped open and he had his full attention on the receiver.

"What do you mean?" he asked eagerly.

"A friend of mine in Hillion Valley knows two people, a couple, who saw those three men in the parking lot the day they kidnapped Elizabeth. They were in a car not too far from them, hidden in the shadows, doing god knows what, when they saw them transfer cars, carrying another person with them. They were close enough to see their faces too. Apparently they were afraid to talk about all this time until now, after the whole country's been looking for them." Roy felt his heart leap. It was the first good news he had heard in two weeks after that day. He had been especially dejected after they had questioned the man who had first witnessed the car transfer and found out that he was too far away to see their faces and could only say that there was a big guy and a smaller skinny one among them.

"What are their names and addresses?" Roy asked impatiently. Madame Christmas gave him the information and Roy wrote them down frantically. "Thank you so much Madame Christmas."

"No worries Roy. Just make sure to catch them and make them pay for it," she said gravely.

When Roy hung up the phone, he stood motionless, thinking about the next step. He would have to send someone over there to question them and hopefully make a portrait out of the descriptions they could give them. Roy quickly opened his drawer, took out a little notebook and skimmed through it. When he found what he was looking for, he picked up the phone and dialed a number.

"Alex Louis Armstrong speaking," said an almost normal voice.

"Mr Armstrong, this is the Fuhrer. How are you doing?"

"FUHRER MUSTANG! WHAT AN HONOUR IT IS TO HAVE A CALL FROM YOU!" he exclaimed with passion, which made Roy hold the receiver away from his ears.

"Alex, I need a favor form you," Roy cut him off quickly before he could start rambling on for too long. "It's about the Lieutenant Colonel Hawkeye."

"Hmm, of course Fuhrer Mustang. I'm so sorry to hear about what happened. If I can help you in any way, I'd be more than honored to do so." Armstrong quieted down after he heard the topic.

"There are two people in Hillion Valley, just outside of Ishbal, who have seen the people who kidnapped Hawkeye. I'd like to ask you to go over there to question them and try to make out some portraits of those men."

"OF COURSE I WOULD LIKE TO HELP! FOR GENERATIONS, THE ARMSTRONG FAMILY HAS-"

"Alex! I need you to leave as soon as possible. Please!" Roy cut him off quickly again. A conversation with Armstrong was always long and he didn't really have the time for idle chit chats. Roy knew about his drawing skills and knew he would be the best one to send.

"I'll hop on the next train. We Armstrongs are pretty fast when we put our mind to it! Don't worry Fuhrer Mustang, I'll draw the finest portraits you will ever see and we will catch these scums who dared to hurt our lovely Lieutenant Colonel!" Armstrong declared through the phone.

"Thank you so much Alex. I'm counting on you."

Armstrong had lived up to his expectations and had drawn out extremely detailed portraits of the two other men, with a full body drawing on another page for each of them. Those drawings were copied and sent out everywhere around Amestris. _It's only a matter of time before we catch them. You can't hide forever, not when the whole nation knows your face._

_End of flashback_

* * *

The next day, Roy immediately went to the Investigations Department the moment he heard the man was brought in.

"What do we know about him?" Roy asked.

"His name is Jack Windle, 41 years old, lived in Ishbal with his wife. They were merchants. His wife passed away during the war when he was away. After that, there has been no records about him until now." Dorse answered him. They were both looking at Goldsby questioning Jack through a one way window.

"I'd like to speak with him in private." Roy said in a low voice. Dorse nodded nervously and went to call Goldsby out of the room. Roy waited for the two men to leave the viewing room before he opened the door leading to the questioning room.

Jack Windle was handcuffed to his chair and sat there silently. He didn't turn around to see who had come in and Roy had to stop himself from snapping at him. He walked over slowly and sat in the chair in front of him on the other side of the small table.

Jack's eyes widened when he saw who his next visitor was, but slowly started smirking after he had gotten over the initial surprise. He had some bruises on his face and his skin had a pale sickly colour. _Havoc and the others must've done that while catching him._

"What an honour it is to have the mighty Fuhrer visit me," Jack praised mockingly. Roy narrowed his eyes, but ignored him.

"You guys did pretty well, hiding for a month and a half. Now, tell me what happened to Riza Hawkeye. Where is she?" Roy asked in a cold voice, getting strait to the subject.

"Ah, her," he paused and stared at Roy, looking uninterested. "She's probably dead. We threw her off a cliff into a river not too far from Keller on the same day you were supposed to show up."

Roy lunged at him from across the table and grabbed the front of his shirt tightly, seething with rage. "I got there on time! I was there and I went alone. Why did you guys leave? Why did you take her away!"

"Our purpose was to kill her from the beginning! You were never supposed to make it in time." Jack was glaring back at him.

"WHY?" Roy was already blind with fury. Depending on the next answer he would get, he didn't know whether or not he could stop himself from killing this man.

"Because we wanted to make you suffer! You did the same to us! You took my wife away from me! You killed her and all of our friends ruthlessly! You deserve the same, if not worse, so we took her from you!" Roy gritted his teeth hard. _Revenge?_ Roy knew all too well about revenge and he understood the endless hate that came from it. He growled under his breath and released him harshly. He sat back down onto his chair.

"So you didn't kill her directly. She could've survived the fall."

"True, but I highly doubt that," Jack answered with a condescending sneer.

"Where's Marcus?"

"I don't know. We separated after we left Keller. He could be out of the country for all I know," Jack said with nonchalance.

"That doesn't make any sense. You do all that to get to me and now what? I don't believe that there's nothing planned after this. Are you going to try to kill me next?" Roy asked with irritation.

"Maybe, but we're not aware of it. Marcus didn't say anything when we split." Roy glared at him. _This guy's not helping at all._

"It's only a matter of time before we catch your friend. We'll question him about Marcus."

"Rob? Yeah, he's too stupid to get away and you won't get anything out of him. He doesn't know any more than me."

Roy stood up without another word and stalked to the door.

"Good luck catching Marcus," Jack added with a playful tone. Roy had had enough of it. He turned around and marched up to Jack and gave him a strait jab to the face.

When Roy went out to the hallway, Goldsby and Dorse were waiting for him, including some other soldiers.

"Question him, drill him, get everything you can out of him," Roy ordered.

Once he was back in his office, he immediately called Eastern HQ.

"Military Eastern Headquarters," a female voice greeted.

"This is the Fuhrer. Connect me to Fuery in the Communications Department." Roy knew the others would be out in the field looking for Rob, while Fuery stayed at HQ in charge of communications between the search teams.

"Fuery," Roy said the moment he heard the line connect.

"Yes sir!"

"How's the search going?"

"We've cornered him, but he's armed. We're approaching with caution. The civilians have been evacuated from the site and he has no hostages."

"Good. If it's possible, catch him alive, but don't get hurt in the process. Shoot him down if he's too dangerous."

"Yes sir, I'll relay the message."

"I need you guys to do something else. I talked to the first guy captured and they said Hawkeye was thrown off a cliff by a river close to Keller. I'm guessing it's the one running along the old trade route. I'm going to contact all the military bases around that area and tell them to deploy their soldiers to search for her. We'll search all along the river and the towns in the vicinity. When you guys finish catching this guy, head to Hillion Valley and join them."

"Yes sir! Do you think she's still alive?" Fuery asked hopefully. Roy gripped the receiver hard.

"I hope so Fuery. Hawkeye's tough. We have to believe in her."

Roy knew he should believe in his own words, but deep down in his heart he felt the fear and he knew the chances of survival were incredibly slim. He proceeded to call all the military bases around the area and gave them the order to search for Hawkeye. When he was done, he sat down in his chair heavily and sighed. He held his hands together in front of him on top of his desk and leaned his forehead against it. _Please be alive Hawkeye. Please. _Roy prayed for the first time.

* * *

**A.N.: SORRYYYYY for the wait! **This last semester was too busy for me, but now it's over. I can start updating the story again. I had a lot of time to think about the outcome of the story and the ending. There's just so many possibilities that I don't know which one to pick... maybe it'll take me some time to decide how the story will unfold lol. Can't decide. Thank you so much for waiting and for all the nice reviews! I love reading them all :) I hope you will continue to read this story and to review! See you next time!

D


	13. Chapter 13

**ROY**

"Sir, the car is ready."

"Thanks Brandt. I'll be right there." Roy buttoned up his uniform properly. He was going to attend the inauguration of the newly built memorial for the victims of the Promised Day. They were expecting over half the city's population to be present. Even now, the public wasn't really aware of what had happened that day. They couldn't just tell everyone that the military had been under the control of some homunculus, that everything had been plotted from the beginning and that they were all sacrifices. No one would accept those explanations. _We need to make one for Ishbal too._ That war was already bad by itself, but knowing that it had been a part of the Father's master plan had made it even more sickening.

"Is everything alright with the security?" Roy asked when he got into the car.

"Yes sir. Breda took care of everything," Brandt answered.

One week ago, Royce had left them. His mother had fallen ill and needed caring. Being an only child, he took a leave of absence for an undetermined amount of time, leaving Brandt alone to take care of everything.

"How's everything going along with you Brandt? Not too busy?"

"It's alright sir. It's busy but I'm managing, sort of," he said, unsure of himself, making Roy chuckle.

"Don't worry. We'll be getting a temporary replacement for Royce soon. It should be either today or tomorrow." Roy saw Brandt smile and sigh with relief from the rearview mirror.

When they arrived, thousands of people were already there. The moment Roy stepped out of the car, a loud cheer erupted. He smiled and waved at everyone as he made his way to the front, protected on both sides by military officers who stood in front of the ropes that prevented people from crossing over. Every time he flashed his smile at the crowd, there was an uproar of screams and squeals from the ladies.

All the high ranking officers were present for this important event. Roy shook all the generals' hands and offered some small talk. Most generals were accompanied by their wives or husbands, but some of them had their children. Roy had to resist rolling his eyes when he saw Jennifer Sarzoft standing beside her father. _What's wrong with you Roy? Normally you love the attention from a beautiful girl like her!_ Roy tried to convince himself to like her, but it was somehow an uncomfortable and unpleasant feeling.

"Good day General Sarzoft, miss Jennifer," he greeted them.

"Good day to you too, Fuhrer Mustang," they both answered. Even though Roy had already politely rejected Jennifer, her father had still tried asking him another time to meet up with his daughter. Once again, he had declined, telling him he was too busy. Roy had not lied though. All he was focused on at the moment was finding Hawkeye, which meant that he had no time for anything else.

"How's everything going with the railway constructions?" Roy asked the general, deliberately avoiding eye contact with his daughter.

"It's almost complete, sir. Just another week and the station in Ishbal should officially be open," he answered with pride.

"That's good news. It will greatly help us in rebuilding the city." Roy said a few more words to them, then walked away to meet a few other people. The ceremony was about to start very soon, so he was heading toward his assigned location.

As he walked to his spot beside the podium, he spotted a familiar face and gave his most charming smile while he walked up to that person.

"It's a pleasure to see you here for the ceremony, General Armstrong." Olivier Armstrong smiled wryly back at him. He knew she would be here today. It was an important event to honor and remember the fallen and he knew she must've lost many of her men in that fight, especially her close subordinate.

"Yes, well, I'm certainly not here to see your ugly face," she said dryly. _Ouch, so much for respect toward the Fuhrer._ Roy didn't get angry for her show of disrespect since they've always had this kind of relationship and he was thankful for her actions during the Promised Day. On her part, Olivier also kept her comments for private moments between them, when it was only the two of them.

"Still as charming as ever I see," he answered back without missing a beat. Olivier was staring at the crowd with a stern, bored expression. Her eyes scanned the area quickly.

"Where's Lieutenant Hawkeye?" she asked calmly. Roy's smile disappeared. Olivier noticed the change in his expression and looked at him.

"She was taken. We're looking for her," he said in a low voice only she could hear. Olivier frowned harder and had a cold expression. No more words were needed to explain the situation. She must've known how much it affected him because she didn't pry any further.

"I hope you find her soon. If I have any news of her I'll let you know. She's a fine soldier. I wouldn't mind keeping her in the North if I find her first." Roy chuckled at her comment.

"Indeed, she is one of the best in the military and because of that, I can't ever let you have her." Olivier huffed and was back to her normal angry face.

A few seconds later, someone came up to tell him it was time to start the ceremony. He started off with an opening speech, delivering an eulogy of all their fallen comrades. After him, there were a few more people who came up to say something and in the end, the monument was revealed after he pulled off the huge cloth that was covering it.

The ceremony had started in late morning, so by the time it was finished, it was already lunch time. A lot of officers asked Roy to have lunch with them, but he declined all of them, eager to get back to his office.

"Fuhrer Mustang! Are you sure you wouldn't like to eat lunch with us? I'm sure Jennifer would be delighted if you joined us," the General called out to him as he was walking away. Jennifer was beside him with a light blush on her cheeks. On any normal day, Roy would've accepted the offer, but his mind was already preoccupied by other things.

"Thank you, but I'm afraid I must decline the invitation." He gave them an apologetic smile. "Maybe another time." His last comment made Jennifer smile brighter, with hope in her eyes.

"Where are we headed sir?" Brandt asked in the car.

"Back to the office."

"Aren't you going to eat something first?"

"I'll eat it in my office. I have a lot things to do. Just get me a sandwich or something." Eight days have passed without any news of Hawkeye. Havoc, Fuery and Falman were still out in the East searching for her, while Breda had come back to help out in the office. Breda had also come back two days ago accompanied by Rob Grey, the big guy who had been one of the men who had kidnapped Hawkeye. Roy had not had the chance to meet this guy yet, but he was definitely looking forward to it.

If this guy proved to be just as clueless and useless to them as Jack, then Roy could at least find out some things about Hawkeye during her capture and what had happened exactly. _Revenge._ A word he knew all too well. He had almost been driven mad by revenge when he was looking for Hughes' murderer. _Hawkeye stopped me at that time._ Now he was looking for Hawkeye and her kidnapper. He wasn't too confident he would be able to control himself if he ever found Marcus. After all, no one would be able to stop him.

When he entered the office, Breda was on the phone. He looked up the moment he heard the door open.

"Sir, it's Havoc." He knew it was an update of the search. The look on Breda's face already told him that nothing had changed.

"Havoc, anything new?" he still tried asking.

"No sir, we've visited the small towns and villages around the river, but there was no news of her. Nobody has seen a person or... a body in the river." He could hear the hopelessness and the fatigue in Havoc's voice. _Not good._ Roy clenched his fist around the receiver. Both men stayed quiet, not too sure what to do next.

Roy didn't want to give up on the search, but he couldn't possibly keep his men there for weeks, looking for someone that could be anywhere. She could be at the bottom of the ocean for all he knew. If no one has seen her along the river for the past two months, then their chances of finding her were infinitely low.

"Keep looking," Roy started slowly, "keep on looking Havoc."

"Yes sir," he heard Havoc answer in a broken voice after a few seconds. He knew it was just as hard for them as it was for him. They were on the field looking for her, but not finding anything. It must've been so frustrating and despairing. However, not being able to do anything, like Roy, was even worse. Every day and night, all he could do was wait for some news, and pretend everything was alright to the rest of the world.

Roy hung up the phone and paused for a second.

"Brandt, clear my schedule for a couple of hours. I have to go meet someone." Seeing Roy's cold demeanor, Brandt nodded without any complaints despite the future complications that could arise when he had to redo the Fuhrer's agenda.

Without a word, Roy went into his office and closed his doors. He sat at his big desk, not really paying attention to anything around him. There was too much going on through his head that he didn't know what to do anymore. If he had not been the Fuhrer, if he had not been a soldier, he would have been out there searching for her.

Being in his position, he could not just abandon his post and go out in the woods to look for her himself. He trusted his team and knew that they would've tried just as hard as him. However, the debate inside of him between his emotional and rational self was becoming turbulent. His rational side knew that it was futile to continue. If a person could not be found in one week of intense searching after falling or being thrown in a river two months ago, then the chances of finding that person was so slim, it was close to impossible.

He couldn't accept her death until he found her, but he also wondered if he could ever find her again. _If I left my post, she would never forgive me._ Everything he did, he would always think about what she would say or what her opinion would be. That was how he kept himself sane on a daily basis, but his hope was also rapidly dwindling with every passing day.

Roy ate his sandwich quickly, thinking about all the details of Hawkeye's case. _Where could he be? What would he do next? _Looking up every person with the name Marcus was going to take much longer than they thought. They couldn't exclude any region of Amestris from the search either because he could be anywhere. With his picture out in the open, he was positive Marcus was in hiding at the very moment and probably in disguise. _Was it a good idea to expose his face? Maybe he'll go into hiding for a long time._

Roy cursed under his breath. If they hadn't released his wanted portrait, then people wouldn't know who to look for, but at the same time, it was giving Marcus a reason to hide himself. Roy always had a headache each time he thought about problems like these. _I'll find you no matter what._

* * *

Roy was accompanied by Breda when he went to the Investigations Department. Dorse and Golsby were already waiting for him. They saluted when he came into the viewing room.

"Did you get anything out of him?" Roy asked.

"Nothing new. Like Jack had said, he doesn't know any more than him. They seem to have been abandoned by Marcus. It doesn't seem like there was a plan after they threw the Lieutenant Colonel into the river. They just scattered and stayed on the down-low." They were both frustrated that the case was not going anywhere.

"I'm going to speak with him," Roy said. The others already knew that he wanted to be alone so they walked out of the room. "Breda, you stay." Roy wanted Breda to watch from the other side, to see if Rob would display any strange behaviours that he would've missed. Breda did have a knack at observing people and analyzing them.

Roy opened to door to the adjacent room, walking in slowly. The clicking of the heels of his polished shoes on the floor made Rob look up at him. He looked surprised for a second, then went back to his poker face. Roy had the same mask, expressionless and unreadable, but on the inside, he was feeling his rage coming up slowly.

Like the last time, he sat across from him at the other side of a table. They stared at each other in silence. After a few seconds, Rob started to glare at him.

"You must be a happy man. First, Hero of Ishbal, now the almighty Fuhrer of Amestris." Roy didn't say anything, not wanting to play his game. Rob flicked his eyes quickly to his left arm, showing his burns. "You ruined my life."

"And now you want revenge?" Roy asked immediately.

"Exactly," Rob said calmly. An evil smile grew slowly on his face, "and I got it." He laughed out loud.

Roy's eyebrows twitched. It was getting harder for him to maintain his composure.

"Do you know how long it took us to find the perfect hostage? Well, I guess you can't really call her a hostage since we didn't want anything in return. A prisoner then. Yes, a prisoner. It took us a very long time to figure out your relationship to... the Lieutenant Colonel." Rob looked at him expectantly, but Roy didn't say anything. "Riza Hawkeye was your alchemy teacher's daughter. Oh how happy I was to find out that that same little girl was still by your side. The girl from your childhood, who was like your sister, or... lover?"

This time Roy could not help but glare dangerously at him. _How does he know that? _His hands gripped the armchairs tightly to refrain himself from doing anything. _Stay calm Roy. You need him to talk. Don't kill him yet._ He repeated those phrases in his head to stay quiet.

"She denied that fact, but then again, she denied almost everything. She didn't talk much, she didn't even make a sound. Do you know how much that infuriated me? I would beat her as hard as I could, but she'd never scream. And because of that, I always had to stop to check if she was still alive. Marcus wouldn't let us kill her. I'd have to say the best part was at the end, when we put her in a bag and I beat her until the bag itself was bleeding. She didn't scream, no, she probably lost consciousness in the middle of it, but I did hear the nice sound of her bones cracking."

Rob was taunting him, like provoking a hot volcano ready to erupt and wipe him out.

"But you know what? There was one thing I did regret not doing," he leaned forward as much as he could and said in a lower voice, "you see, she was such a pretty thing, so feisty. I would've loved to have my way with her. I would've violated every part of her, but Marcus forbid us from raping her. I'm sure she would've cried out for you then."

Roy's left hand took a hold of his shirt, clenching it hard. He pulled him a little closer as he leaned in too. Roy's mouth was beside his ear and he said in a low, menacing voice, "you're a dead man."

"I've been dead for a long time," Rob answered back.

"No, I'll make sure you go through another kind of death." Roy backed a bit and looked at the man in his eyes. The murderous intent in them promised he would not go back on his words. _You will die the __most horrible death._ Rob saw Roy's intent through his eyes and fear coursed through his body. Roy saw that split second change in Rob's features, but it disappeared when he willed himself to hide it.

Roy punched him hard in the face, making Rob fly back in his chair. He pushed the table aside and grabbed the front of Rob's shirt and pulled him back up to a sitting position. The man was attached to his chair so he could not move. Roy gave another punch to his face, this time holding the chair to prevent it from falling again. However, he didn't want to break his jaw since he needed him to talk, so he went to punching his ribs. After the second hard punch, he heard a crack. Rob cried out in pain and grit his teeth hard.

"Why are you screaming? Hawkeye didn't scream when you did this to her."

He gave another hard jab at the same place, hearing a louder crack. Rob screamed out, despite his efforts to keep it in.

"One broken rib and that's all you can take?" Roy grabbed his jaw in a deathly grip, making Rob face him. "I'm sure you did much worst to her. I saw Marcus dislocate her shoulder. I'm going to make sure you suffer just as much as her, both physically and mentally."

Rob was breathing hard and whimpering a little bit when Roy let go of his jaw. _Disgusting._

"What happened to her in the end?"

"She- I- I pushed her off the ledge into a river. An hour before you came." Rob was more hesitant to speak now. He had lost his vigour and arrogance from the moment before, probably from the pain of each breath. He looked up at Roy and saw that he was waiting for more. "She didn't come back up in the river. She was all broken, could barely stand on her own. The river was strong and I'm sure she wasn't able to swim. She must've fallen down the waterfall. Just that would've crushed her to death." Rob looked at him with a mixture of fear, pain and anger. _He's not lying._

Roy could not stand being in the presence of this man anymore. Before he left, he told him, "you'll be kept somewhere where you will never get to see the daylight until the end of your days." _You will live what she had to go through for the rest of your life._

When Roy walked into he viewing room, Breda was waiting for him with his arms crossed and his hands in fists.

"I don't know how you managed to wait that long to beat him up," was the first thing he said.

"Me neither, but if I didn't, I would've scorched him to death already." Roy walked toward the the door leading to the hallway. "Let's go back. We'll talk in the car."

"Yes sir."

The first few minutes of the car ride back to HQ was silent. Breda didn't want to interrupt Roy's thoughts. They were both anguished by what they had heard. It was hard to accept, but the fact that Hawkeye was dead was becoming more and more of a reality. _It can't be. She wouldn't die like this,_ Roy told himself. But at the back of his mind, guilt, grief and hopelessness were creeping forward ever so slowly. _We survived the war, the promised day, hell, we even fought monsters. She can't go like this._

"So nothing new about Marcus," Roy finally said to take his mind off Hawkeye. Breda looked at him from the rearview mirror, but Roy was staring out the window.

"Nothing. Like Jack had said, they don't know anything. We don't even know where he went or toward which direction."

"Damn it," Roy muttered. "We've put out his wanted poster, but we've received nothing this week. He could already be out of the country."

Roy did not understand the way he worked. _Why would they leave before I even arrived? Why would they even call for me in the first place if they weren't going to meet up with me?_ _Wait, he said an hour before I came?_ Roy came to realize something. It was impossible for them to know of the time of his arrival if all three of them were in the abandoned prison in Keller.

"Breda!" Roy said agitatedly, "they have someone within. Did you hear what Rob had said? They threw her off an hour before I came. How would they know that if all three of them were there? They have an informant. Someone within the military that knows what I'm doing."

Breda was shocked by the revelation. "Shit! There's a mole in the military?" Things were becoming more complicated by the second.

Roy passed his hands through his hair agitatedly. Needless to say, his stress was rapidly piling up. He already had trouble sleeping at night and his appetite wasn't as good as before. He was always feeling tired, but the thought of not being able to find Hawkeye was preventing him to sleep. Not knowing whether she was alive or dead continued to gnaw at him, keeping him from attaining a peace of mind.

When both men entered the office, they were greeted by Brandt and another officer.

"Welcome back sir," Brandt saluted, so did the newcomer. "This is Warrant Officer Catelyn Sakel. She'll be replacing Warrant Officer Michael Royce during his absence."

Catelyn looked to be in her mid twenties, with thick brown hair tied in a ponytail, brown eyes and delicate features. Anybody would definitely think that she'd be the Fuhrer's type.

"At ease Warrant Officer Sakel," Roy said. She easily relaxed herself and smiled shyly at him. When she looked at him, she batted her eyelids too many times for it to be natural. _Great, another one._ Roy didn't want to have to deal with flirting in the office, so he did the only thing that was polite and easy: ignoring her. "It's a pleasure to have you in our team. You'll be assisting Brandt with his duties. He'll show you around and if you have any questions, then feel free to ask him anything."

"Yes sir," she answered in a sweet voice.

On any other normal circumstances, Roy would have picked out another person himself, but being so busy and pressed for time, he had just asked human resources to find someone apt to fill in this post. _I should've known a female officer would've wanted to come in here with an ulterior motive._

"What's next on my schedule Brandt?"

"You have a meeting with the generals in twenty minutes sir."

"Alright. Can you prepare all the papers and bring it there?"

"Yes sir." Brandt and Sakel saluted and left the room.

"Come into my office Breda." Once inside, behind closed doors, Roy seated himself at his desk.

"We've got one of your admirers in the office now," Breda commented with a half-hearted smirk.

"Tell me about it. I don't know how they managed to bring me more trouble." Roy sighed and said, "as long as she gets the work done."

Roy picked up the phone and dialed a number.

"Eastern Headquarters," a man said on the other line.

"Connect me to Kain Fuery in the Communications Department." The man didn't need ask who it was since everyone knew that the Fuhrer was the only one calling everyday to speak with Fuery.

"Anything?" Roy asked. It had almost become a routine now. Roy would ask the same thing every day and each time he would get the same answer.

"Nothing sir," Fuery replied in a dejected voice.

"Abort the mission and come back," Roy commanded.

"B- but sir!" Fuery panicked.

"Fuery, we can't continue. It's been two months and we've been looking for a lead for over a week. I'm deploying hundreds of soldiers for this mission and we've found nothing. In all the cities, small towns and villages, no one has heard or seen anything. If, after two months, no one has seen her, then it means she's not there or she hasn't been found. Abort and return."

"Understood," Fuery said reluctantly.

Roy hung up slowly. A few seconds of silence passed before he looked up at Breda.

"What are you thinking?" Roy asked him calmly. Breda's face went from hurt, anger to disgust.

"How can- how can you do that? I know it's unreasonable to continue and the chances of finding her are infinitely small, but- but she's Hawkeye! How can you have it in you to abandon her like this? Hasn't she been with you from the start? Doesn't she mean anything to you?"

Roy stared and waiting for him to calm down.

"I don't know if she's alive or not. All I know is that in these past two months, her body hasn't been found in the East along the river. If she's alive, if she's made it out somehow, then she's not there. I believe in her. I believe she's alive. And if she is, then she'll come back to us. Right now, I want to focus on catching Marcus and his mole inside the military. We're walking on dangerous grounds and I need all of you here. When she comes back, I want it to be a safe place."

Breda listen quietly and at the end, his anger and frustration was replaced by sadness and apology.

"I know you all care very much about her, but I do as well. So don't you ever doubt me that way." Breda could see the determined look behind Roy's eyes. "Hawkeye is... very important to me," Roy added the last part after carefully choosing his words.

"Yes sir. I'm sorry for ever doubting you. I should know by now that we can trust you." Breda smirked.

"And I as well. I trust you all and that's why I'm calling them all back."

The rest of the day went by normally. Since it was already a Friday, Roy dismissed Brandt and Sakel after the meeting. Havoc, Fuery and Falman had come back to Central in the late afternoon on Saturday and they met up at the office on Sunday.

Roy had to explain to them his motives for calling them back again, since they had all thought the same thing that Breda had the day before and came to the office with sad and angry moods.

"A spy in the military?" Havoc asked in dismay. "Damn it! This explains a lot of things. They knew when the Fuhrer would arrive."

"They also knew our routines, if not they wouldn't have been able to get Hawkeye in the first place. No one from the military followed Hawkeye when she came to get us at the club, from what we know, then someone must've known where she was going."

"It could be someone from the Investigation Department. They're trained be discreet. Dorse and Goldsby knew about Hawkeye's disappearance really early too," Fuery suggested.

"I don't know. It's too early to conclude anything. It could've easily been someone from the club too. Who knows if they have any informants in there." Roy know all too well about informants in those kinds of places. After all, he had a whole network as well. _This is going to be hard. We're gonna have to tread carefully.._

They continued suggesting possible choices for the spy, but in the end, they couldn't decide on one. With their limited information, they couldn't narrow down their choices very much.

"It's getting late, we should call it a day soon," Roy proposed. "We'll have to gather more information about this to move on. Because we don't know who it could be, you'll have to do all this on your own. It's a lot of work to do, but I can only trust you four." They smiled at him and nodded in agreement. Roy already knew they wouldn't object to this. "If we can find this person, then we'll be one step closer to finding Marcus."

Each time Roy uttered that name, he was consumed by fury. The others knew about it too since he would always have a murderous look when it came to discussing about that man.

The next day, Roy came into the office to find everyone there, already working at their desks. They all greeted him and he did the same in return. He was about to enter his private office when he heard Sakel speak to Brandt.

"This desk is a little small. Is it okay if I move to that one in the corner? This way we can both have more room." She was seated at Royce's desk, which was sticked to Brandt's and were a bit smaller than the rest in the office. Everyone looked at her with wide eyes, looking back and forth between her and the Fuhrer, who had stopped midway of opening his door.

"Ah, um, that desk is..." Brandt stammered.

"That desk is already occupied Warrant Officer Sakel. You came to replace Royce so you will be seated at his desk. If you'd organize your desk properly then you wouldn't find it cumbersome," Roy said a little too roughly, making the girl cower.

"I'm sorry sir. There was no one there so I thought it was free," she said in an alarmed voice.

"That's Lieutenant Colonel Hawkeye's desk. She's my aide."

"Oh, where is she?" Roy heard the others shift uncomfortably in their chairs. Even for Roy, she was really starting to get on his nerves. He steeled his facial expression so he wouldn't display his annoyance.

"She's away at the moment, but she will be back." Roy looked away and entered his office before she could ask anymore questions.

_Yes, she'll be back._

* * *

**A.N.: **She'll be back? I wonder. Sorry for the tardiness guys. Once again, I appreciate the nice reviews. It reminded me to update the story hehehe... The next one will be coming soon. I'm working on it! Here's a hint: new character.


	14. Chapter 14

**JILL**

"Lucas, wait for me!" Jill screamed after her friend as they ran along the river bank. Many other kids were also playing in the calm water. The adults were either washing clothes or fishing further down the river.

"You're so slow. Hurry up!" he shouted back at her. They were both running closer to the waterfall to get a better look. "You know, sometimes you can see a rainbow from the mist on a sunny day."

Jill and Lucas had been best friends ever since they were born. Now thirteen years of age, they could basically say that they lived the same lives since they shared almost everything and did everything together. Their families were both merchants and for as long as they could remember, they were always on the road together, home schooled together and taught everything together.

"Whoa! Check it out!" Lucas pointed to the waterfall. It was about thirty feet high, bringing a lot of water from above into this slower running river. They didn't go too close to it since the mist from the water crashing down was enough to soak them.

"What do you think happens to the fishes that come down from there? Do you think they die?" Jill asked her friend. Lucas made a face.

"Of course not. Fishes don't die that easily. They live in water so I'm sure they know how to go down waterfalls without getting crushed to death. They must have some kind of special ability that us humans don't have." _Oh I see. That makes are fishes downstream too._

"Look! A rainbow!" She pointed out the rainbow in the mist.

"I can see the end of the rainbow, but there's no pot of gold," Lucas said with a disappointed look.

"Yeah, you're right."

They continued to stare at the huge rush of water, listening to the loud roaring waves crashing down. Jill stared, mesmerized by the powerful outpour, when she suddenly saw something within the water falling down.

"Ah!" she cried out in surprise.

"What?" Lucas looked at her curiously.

"Did you see that?" she asked in a hurry, not taking her eyes off the water.

"See what? Where?"

"In the water! I saw something fall and it was big!" Jill said excitedly. She moved forward to get a little closer, not caring if she got wet.

"Wait! Watch out! Are you sure you saw something? It could be a really big fish." Lucas was a little afraid to follow her so close, but he did anyways.

"I'm sure! And it's not a fish. It's too big to be one. There are only small fishes in this river." Jill said in a louder voice so he could hear her.

They were both standing on big rocks by the side of the river and stared intently at the water.

"There's something there!" Lucas pointed between two rocks a little further down from them, close to the place where they were standing right before. Jill quickly hopped off her rock and ran to the place that he had pointed to.

When she came near the two rocks, she stopped dead in her tracks, making Lucas bump into her from behind.

"What is it? Why are you stopping?" He peaked from behind her shoulders and gasped. "A- a- a person!"

Between the two rocks, a body was floating on its side with its back towards them. She felt Lucas grab her arm firmly, urging her to back away. "Is it dead?" he asked quietly, but urgently.

"I don't know," she answered back in the same tone.

The person bounced up and down in the water in the same rhythm as the waves. After a stronger push, the person started to drift a little further away from the two rocks. Jill immediately jumped into the water and grabbed the person's shirt, clinging with all her might to keep him or her from drifting any further.

"Jill! What are you doing?" Lucas screamed out in panic.

"Lucas, go call someone! Get an adult here quick! I'm going to hold him here so he doesn't get drifted away in the current."

"What about you?"

"Don't worry about me. I'm fine. Now hurry! Hurry!" she screamed at him. She was a little higher than her waist deep into the water, but the current wasn't that strong so she wasn't going to get pushed away in the river.

She watched Lucas run as fast as he could back to where the rest of the people were. _Hurry!_ She looked back down to the person she was holding and gasped. When she had seen the person drifting away, she had frantically jumped in and grabbed whatever she could, but she noticed now that the person's face was mostly in the water. _Oh no!_ She turned the person around quickly, hoping to let him breathe again. However, she was so startled when she saw the face that she almost lost her grip.

It was a woman with a dreadfully pale skin, horrible bruises, swelling and some dried blood still partially on her face. Jill felt herself shaking in fear. She wanted to scream, cry and run away, but she couldn't will herself to let go. Whether she was paralyzed with fear or whether she felt that she was this woman's only chance of survival, she did not know, but she knew that she could not let go.

"H- he- hello?" she tried talking to the woman. She tried poking her shoulder a little bit, but the lady did not move. "Can you hear me?" she asked a little louder. Still, she got no response. _Lucas, hurry. __Please!_, she pleaded in her head.

"Jill!"

She looked up quickly and saw her brother running towards her and Lucas not too far behind. She felt her tears starting to fall.

"Jules! Jules over here! There's- there's a lady that fell from the waterfall! I don't know if she's dead, but she won't answer me!" She was so glad to see her brother and her best friend again and all she wanted to do was run to them.

Jules jumped into the water and quickly took the lady in his arms and carried her out of the water. Jill held onto the hem of his shirt and followed him closely. What had frightened her even more was the look on his face when he saw the woman. She couldn't tell if he was afraid, horrified, angry or worried. She just knew that he was frowning and was extremely focused on the woman.

Once out of the water, he laid her down on the grass and checked her pulse.

"Is she dead?" Jill asked cautiously. Jules didn't seem to hear her. Lucas was standing beside her and held her hand tightly. She knew he was afraid by what he saw. She had been through the same shock after all.

Jules waited a few seconds with his fingertips on her neck. Suddenly, he put both hand flat on the middle of her chest and started doing compressions. Jill and Lucas stood on the side staring in silence, afraid to disturb any of Jules efforts to save this lady. Jill could feel her heart beating rapidly and her muscles tense up.

After what seemed like an eternity, water started to come out of the lady's mouth. At first, it was little by little, but the more Jules pressed down, the more water came out, until the lady started coughing the rest out. He stopped the compressions and waited for her to cough out the rest on her own. Jill and Lucas ran over to the lady's other side, watching in amazement.

"She's alive! You saved her Jules!" Lucas exclaimed.

"Wait," he held up his hand to tell them to keep quiet.

They watched silently as the woman took deep breaths mixed in with coughs. All of a sudden, she started coughing out blood. Jill was so startled that she jumped back.

"Hey! Hey! Can you hear me?" Jules asked her loudly, but gently at the same time. He gently tapped the side of her face that wasn't injured. "Can you open your eyes?"

The lady made a sound in her throat, but no word came out, only more blood. Jill saw some movements under her eyelids and so did her brother. _She's waking up!_

"Hey! Open your eyes. Try to open your eyes." Jules kept on encouraging her to open her eyes. It was obvious that the woman was trying to respond. After a few more tries, she cracked her eyes open. "One of you, go tell granny and Dr Wilson we have an injured person coming in. Tell them to get ready! Tell them it's very serious! Hurry!" Lucas immediately started sprinting back towards the camp.

Jules talked to her and tried to get her to respond, but she didn't do anything. Her eyes were unfocused and only stayed open for a few seconds. After she shut her eyes, her body started trembling and having spasms.

"Damn." Jules picked her up gingerly. "She needs emergency care immediately. We need to bring her to granny and Dr Wilson before it's too late. Let's go!"

Jill followed closely behind him as he walked as fast as he could back to their camp. The lady in his arms was limp, with her arms and head hanging down gracelessly. _She's so white._ It wasn't long before they met someone at the outskirt of their camp. It was Lucas' dad and he offered to take a turn carrying her, but Jules refused, saying that she was in a fragile and critical state. All three of them headed quickly towards granny's medical tent.

Apparently the news had spread like wildfire. Lucas had come back in panic, getting many people's attention and everyone soon told the other person beside them until the whole camp knew. The good thing was that granny's tent was ready to receive the patient. Dr Wilson and granny were in front of the tent, so was Jill's mother, granny's best assistant.

"Oh dear!" granny exclaimed when she saw the lady in Jules arms. Dr Wilson's expression was grim. "Quickly! Bring her inside. Put her down on the table."

Jules did as he was told. He set her down gently on the operating table while Dr Wilson, granny and her mother ran about getting more things ready. It was clear that they hadn't expected their patient to be in such a serious condition.

"Granny! Please save her!" Jill pleaded loudly, standing near the tent flap. Her grandmother only seemed to realize that she was there for the first time.

"Jillian! Leave this tent now. This is no place for you. Jules, bring your sister outside and wait there."

Her brother held her by the shoulders and was pushing her out.

"Mom! Granny! Dr Wilson! Please!" she cried again.

"Jill, you have to wait outside. Granny and Dr Wilson are very busy right now. You can't disturb them. They will do their very best to save her and I'll be helping them. Okay?" he mother talked to her calmly.

"Come on Jill. We have to wait outside," Jules urged her. Jill relented and let herself be brought outside the tent.

"Jill!" Lucas was by her side. All the kids and many adults were standing around the tent when they came out. "Is the lady going to be okay?"

_I don't know._ She felt everyone's eyes on her, but before she could answer, her brother spoke up.

"Mom, granny and Dr Wilson are doing their very best to help her. We won't know until they're done." He bent down, looked at her in the eyes and said, "but have some faith. Granny is the best healer I know and a medical alchemist, mom's the best assistant and Dr Wilson is a very skilled surgeon from Central. Believe in them." Jules smile reassured her.

"Jill, Jules, are you two alright?" her father came through the crowd.

"Dad!" Jill ran to him and hugged him tightly. Her father was a tall and strong man and was also the leader of this caravan.

"I heard you found a lady in the river? Is that true?"

"Yes! I saw something fall down from the waterfall and Lucas and I looked around and saw a body floating in the water. She was about to drift away so I jumped in to keep her there while Lucas ran to call for help," Jill explained quickly.

"I see," her father patted her on the back while she stuck to him, "you did a good thing. You might have saved this lady's life." Despite the overwhelming events that have just occurred, Jill let a smile creep on her face, happy from her father's praise.

"Dr Wilson, granny and mom are in there with her right now. We won't know the outcome until they're done," Jules said.

"Alright. Everyone, don't clutter around the tent! Even if you stay here, we won't know until one of them comes out," he father said out loud. Everyone listened and spread out. Some adults ushered their kids away.

"I want to stay here," Jill said stubbornly. Her father sighed and kneeled down in front of her.

"I knew you would say that. It might be a long time before someone comes out," he told her gently.

"I don't care. I'll wait. I was the one who found her so she's my patient too. I want to be the first one to know when someone comes out." Jill crossed her arms and sat down on the grass directly in front of the tent with a stubborn frown.

"Fine. You can stay, but you have to be quiet. Mom, granny and Dr Wilson need to be very concentrated to work well."

"I know. Don't worry. I'll be so quiet they won't even know I'm here." She heard her father get back up and walk away with her brother. A few seconds later, she felt someone sit down quietly beside her. She didn't need to look to know who it was. That person's presence was one that she could sense anywhere.

"Do you think she'll be okay?" Lucas asked in a whisper. Jill's face fell and she looked down.

"I don't know. You saw how she was coughing out blood. That's never a good thing. She might be bleeding somewhere inside."

"Yeah," Lucas agreed in a sad tone. "We're not like fishes so it must hurt a lot to fall down from a waterfall. What do you think she was doing there?"

"I don't know. Maybe someone pushed her down. I don't think anybody would want to try going down a waterfall on their own."

"Yeah."

They stayed quiet for a while. _She'll live. I know it._

"Granny is the best healer in the whole world. She teaches everyone and has a lot of experience. She can even use her alchemy in medicine so she's way better than the average healer," Jill started out of the blue. Lucas listened to her in silence. "Mom learned from her so she's also really good. She just can't do alchemy. Dr Wilson does many surgeries and he used to work in the trauma center back in Central right? He should know exactly what to do to save her."

"Yeah, it's the perfect team. You can't find any group that's better than them. She's lucky to have them. I'm sure she'll live," Lucas said hopefully. _I hope so._

Both of them waited in silence. They only shifted positions to find one more comfortable. When it was supper time, Jules came to bring them two bowl of fish stew.

"Any news?" he asked as he watched them eat with hunger. Jill swallowed before answering him.

"No. It's already been four hours. When do you think they'll come out?"

"The lady was very hurt Jill. There must be a lot to do to fix her up. I think it's going to take some more time."

Jules was right. They waited for another three hours before they started to get sleepy. This time, her father was the one who came to see them.

"Kids, it's getting late. You two should be getting ready to go to bed."

"But no one came out yet," Jill retorted.

"If we go to sleep now, we'll miss them when they come out," Lucas also joined in.

Her father sighed and sat down beside them.

"How about I wake you guys up when someone comes out?" he offered.

"Last time you said that we woke up in the morning," Jill said angrily and her father looked away in guilt. _I won't trust him for something like that ever again! Liar!_

All three sat in silence for a few minutes.

"Oh!" Jill was up on her feet when she saw the tent flap move. Her father and Lucas, who was starting to drift to sleep, followed suit. She waited anxiously in front of the tent and moments later, her mother emerged.

"Mom! How did it go? Is she going to be okay?" Jill asked frantically, rushing towards her.

"You two are still up? You should be in bed already." her mother gave a stern look to her father, who just hunched his shoulders.

"Mom, you didn't answer me. Is she going to be okay?" Jill insisted. Her mother gave her a small reassuring smile and caressed her head.

"She's alive right now, but she's still in a critical condition. We'll have to take turns watching her throughout the night. Hopefully she'll stabilize soon."

Dr Wilson came out and she immediately went to see him.

"Dr Wilson? Do you think she'll stabilize soon?" she asked.

"I hope so Jill. But I can't guarantee anything right now. Anything can happen, so we'll just have to wait and see. Your granny's in there right now with her. She wanted the first watch." He patted her shoulder and smiled at her.

"See Jill? I told you she was in good hands. Now it's time for you two to go to bed. Lucas, go to your tent now before your mother comes out to look for you," her father said.

This time, they both returned to their tents without any more fuss. Jill went to brush her teeth and change before going to bed. She heard some rustling and saw her mother kneeling beside her.

"Mom, what happened to her?" she asked in a whisper.

"I don't know darling. We won't know what happened until she wakes up and tells us that herself." Her mother stroked her hair.

"Was she bleeding inside? She coughed out blood after Jules got the water out of her lungs." Her mother seemed to hesitate a little bit.

"Yes, well, she had some broken ribs so the chest compressions might have punctured her lungs, but it did save her."

"Jules made her bleed?" Jill was horrified by what she had heard. _We actually made it worst?_

"No, it wasn't his fault. He did a good thing. It would've been far worse if he didn't do that because the brain needs oxygen and is she wasn't breathing then it could've impaired her brain functions. We don't know how long she hadn't been breathing so hopefully her brain isn't damaged."

"What else?"

"Go to sleep Jill. It's too late now. I can tell you the rest tomorrow." Her mother tucked her in before leaving.

_I have to make sure to ask tomorrow._

Jill was roused from sleep by low voices in the room behind the curtains of the adjoining tent. She instantly became alert when she heard parts of the conversation and quietly inched closer to the flap and listened.

"I don't know. Her internal organs were severely damaged. The pressure from the fall must've crushed them. Honestly, it's a miracle she's even alive right now." Jill heard her mother say with a hesitant voice.

"The question is, how did she end up like that? There aren't any villages or towns in the proximity of this river, so where did she come from?" This time it was her father. They were talking in hushed voices so Jill really had to strain her ear.

"I have a feeling someone forced her into the river. Her body was covered with bruises and cuts. They were all clear signs of violent abuse. I think someone must've tried to kill her. Poor girl."

Jill's eyes widened and she immediately jumped out of bed and came out of her room.

"What do you mean someone tried to kill her?" she asked loudly.

"Jillian! Quiet!" her father said harshly. Her brother had also been there listening to the conversation since the beginning. She looked accusingly at Jules and pouted angrily at her parents. "Jill, don't talk to anyone about this," her father continued more softly, "we don't know her situation yet and we don't know how serious it is, so we should not spread any rumours. I will tell everyone not to talk about it too. It could put her life in danger again and maybe ours as well." _Ours as well?_

"What do you mean? How can we be in danger too? We saved her didn't we?" Jill asked slowly.

"Well, like you heard. Someone must've tried to kill her and we've saved her. We don't know who tried to do this to her, but if they knew about it, they could try to come for her again and that could put our group in danger," her father explained patiently.

"Dad, I think we should get moving soon. It wouldn't be good to stay here too long then," Jules added.

"Yeah, I know. It's alright because it won't change much in our schedule. We'll just be leaving one day in advance."

"What is this now?" someone said as they came into their tent. It was her granny.

"We were just saying that we should be leaving soon. Hopefully tomorrow morning," her father informed his mother.

"Hmm. That's a good idea. Dr Wilson and I decided on another thing too." They all looked at her expectantly. "We'll send off a group in advance with Dr Wilson to head straight for Central with the woman."

Jill saw everyone in the room look at her with surprise, clearly wanting to ask a ton of questions, but they remained silent as they waited for her explanations.

"As you all know, any normal person would not be alive after falling down from a waterfall. But somehow, this lucky lady survived and we are determined to let it stay that way. My alchemy and Dr Wilson's skills and experience were able to get her out of a critical period, but it's not enough as it is. If she is to survive, we need more sophisticated and professional medication and equipment. The best place for that is Central, where they have the most advanced trauma center and intensive care unit. Dr Wilson's know many great doctors there and is ready to make the trip back with her. All he'll need is one or two other people to accompany him and to help with the transportation."

"I'll go," Jules said immediately after she was done speaking. Jill's breath hitched and she felt a rush of adrenaline.

"Me too!" She yelled out quickly. Her parents whipped their heads toward her with a disapproving look. "I was the one who found her! And we're all going to be in Central in the end anyways. I'll just be there earlier than you guys. Jules will be with me too," she defended her decision.

"Jill, you'll only get in their way. Their purpose is to get to Central quickly so the lady can be saved. That means there's going to be a lot of long, non-stop travelling. Just stay with us and, like you said, we'll catch up to them in the end, maybe a week later, that's all," her dad said sternly.

"No. I refuse. I will go with them. I won't get in their way and I'll do everything at their pace," Jill retorted stubbornly. However, seeing her father's unyielding look, she changed her expression to try to tug at his compassion. "Daddy, please. I promise to behave and to listen to everything they say. I just want to make sure she lives. It would be so sad if something were to happen and I never got the chance to see her one last time." The single tear that fell down gave the final blow.

She saw her father struggle internally. _It'll work. It always does._

"Fine. You can go, but only if you behave and do not cause any problems for them," he said in defeat. _Yes!_ Her mother huffed at him, clearly aware that her daughter had played him once again.

"Don't worry dad. I'll take care of her," her brother added. Jill and Jules were close and he would always try to help her whenever he could and when he thought that she wouldn't get into any sort of trouble.

"Thank you so much daddy!" she hugged him tightly around his neck. "I'm going to go pack now!"

She darted back to her room and packed what she thought would be necessary for the trip. She didn't want to pack a big bag since she knew they wouldn't have that much place to carry things. _We'll have a wagon to transport the lady and I'm sure it'll be full of medical equipment._

"Don't pack too much Jill, unless you want to carry something heavy all day." Her brother peeked his head inside her makeshift room. "The rest of the caravan will probably meet up with us after two weeks, so mom and dad will bring you the rest of your stuff then."

"I know. I'm just bringing my small bag."

"Don't forget to pack some extra underwear," Jules teased her.

"I know that!" Jill yelled and he left with a loud laughter. _How old does he think I am?_

When she finished gathering everything she thought she needed, she ran outside to find people bustling around, getting them ready for departure.

"Jill! You're leaving?" Lucas came running to her. She could see the panic and the longing in his eyes already.

"Yeah. I'm going ahead with them to bring the lady to a hospital in Central so she can get better treatment. Don't worry, we'll meet up again in a week or so," she reassured him. She felt guilty for leaving him behind, but she knew they would never allow him to come too. Just getting permission for herself had been an effort already. The thrill and excitement had made her forget to tell him about this news.

"That's not fair. I want to come too." Lucas was pouting and Jill knew exactly how he felt.

"Sorry Lucas. My dad won't let you come. I had to beg him to let me go with them, so I doubt you'd be able to convince him." They both knew she was right and Lucas gave up hope instantly.

"Just make sure to tell me all about it when we catch up with you in Central. You better tell me everything."

"Yeah, I will, promise."

"And make sure you look after the lady. Make sure she lives," he said with determination and worry.

"I'll do my best to watch over her." _I can't guarantee anything though. Nobody can._

"Jill!" her brother called her over.

She ran to him, through the crowd of people who had gathered.

"Are we going now?" Jill asked excitedly.

"Yeah soon. Will and aunt Claudia are coming with us too," he said. Will was around the same age as Jules and one of his close friend. "You can help aunt Claudia and Dr Wilson whenever she changes the lady's clothes and bandages, but only if they ask for your help." Jill nodded her head vigorously.

"Clear the way!" she heard her granny shout. A path had been cleared and moments later, her father and Dr Wilson were coming through slowly, carrying the lady on a stretcher, being very careful not to move her too much. It was the first time that Jill saw her again after having found her in the water. Now that she thought about it, she couldn't really remember how the lady looked like because she had been so shaken and afraid that she had unconsciously avoided staring at the lady's face too much.

The lady's face was ashen pale, glistening with sweat in the sun. Other than a part of her face, Jill noticed that the rest of her body was mostly covered in bandages. Her head was also wrapped and so was the left side of her face. Jill felt a shiver run up her spine and cold sweat starting to form. Her excitement had vanished all of a sudden, taken over by a new kind of fear.

Her eyes only left the body when she felt someone's hand on her shoulder. She looked up and saw her mother looking down at her with concern. She understood her mother's worried look and turned around to hug her.

"I'm going to protect her and make sure she lives," she said, with her face buried in her mother's dress.

"I know you will. Aunt Claudia will need your help to change the bandages and apply fresh poultice. I told her you were very capable and willing to help her." Her mother smiled down at her, making her smile back.

"I know how to do that. You taught me a long time ago."

"That's right. Be very gentle and careful with the lady." Jill nodded.

She walked with her mother to the large wagon with a white canvas roofing. They had already settled the lady inside and presently, granny and Dr Wilson were examining her carefully one last time. She saw granny emerge and talk to aunt Claudia, giving her instructions. When everything was ready, they all said their goodbyes and left on the dirt road. The rest of the group had another city to stop in to make trades and then they would come straight to Central to rejoin them.

Jill, Jules and Will walked beside the wagon with a normal pace. They had two horses to pull the wagon, but they couldn't go too fast because of the bumps it would cause. Dr Wilson was afraid any sudden movements would affect the lady's condition, so they treaded at a normal pace.

"What are you thinking about Jill?" Will asked her. He was standing at her right, while Jules was at her left. She looked up in surprise to see him with a concerned smile. She looked back down to the ground, ashamed to have worried them.

"I'm just scared for the lady," she said after a while. Jules put a heavy hand on the top of her head and rustled her hair.

"Don't worry. She's in good hands. We'll reach the next town by evening and then we can take a train to East City where we'll make a transfer and take another one to Central."

Jill walked on for another hour before she got tired and rode in the back with the lady and aunt Claudia, while Dr Wilson sat in the front with the reins. She crawled inside carefully and sat beside aunt Claudia, facing the sleeping body.

"Is she okay?" she asked in a low voice. Aunt Claudia looked at her sympathetically.

"Yes, her state hasn't changed since we left." Jill was relieved to hear that.

"When do you think she'll wake up?" Before aunt Claudia could answer her, she heard Dr Wilson from the front of the wagon through the open flap.

"Not anytime soon."

"What? Why? How long does it take?" _Why does it take so long?_ For as long as she remembered, all of granny's patients woke up in a day or two, or maximum three days, even if they had pretty serious wounds.

"Calm down Jillian," she frowned when she heard him call her by her full name. She preferred her nickname and she would always glare at anyone who called her by her full name, except for her parents and her granny. "She has a head injury. We don't know if it was from the fall or before that, but she had some internal bleeding. We've controlled it for now, but we put her under medication to keep her in an artificial coma-"

"What! Why would you do that?" Jill screeched. By then, she was leaning out of the rectangular flap, with her head right beside the Dr Wilson's. He cringed and jumped at the sudden noise in his ears and chuckled lightly when he saw her wide eyes.

"Calm down Jill. Let me finish explaining." When he saw that she kept quiet, he continued. "Like I said. We're keeping her in an artificial coma so her brain can heal and recuperate. It would be more dangerous if she woke up after a head trauma. She needs to rest for a while to allow her body to work on fixing the wounds."

"Do you think the bleeding affected her brain functions at all?" Jill asked.

"I don't know. We'll have to wait for her to wake up when it's safe. If her brain has been deprived of oxygen for a while, it could have affected some parts, but we won't know until she wakes up."

Jill went back in to sit beside aunt Claudia, who looked at her worriedly. _What if she doesn't remember who she is or why she ended up in the water? _Jill sat still, disturbed by the news. She looked at the lady's sleeping face with sadness and pity. _I hope you get better and wake up soon,_ she wished.

They stopped at lunch time to let the horses rest and eat. They all sat under a tree to eat something and after that aunt Claudia and Dr Wilson went into the back of the wagon to change the lady's bandages and to check her condition. Jill sat by the tree, eyes glued on the wagon, longing to go see but restraining herself with all of her willpower.

"Jill!" she heard aunt Claudia call for her. In a split second she was up and running to her.

"Yes!" she said when she climbed in. Aunt Claudia gave her a bag of herbs.

"Could you help me crush these leaves to make a new poultice? Do you know how?" she asked gently.

"Yes." The two of them were busy crushing the leaves while Dr Wilson took off the bandages and examined the wounds. Jill had to concentrate on her task but she couldn't help herself from staring wide-eyed at the black bruises and the angry red wounds underneath the bandages after Dr Wilson had washed away the old poultice. Her breath hitched in her throat and she felt dizzy. She looked back down quickly and focused on her task.

"Good, no infection and the inflammation is also not too bad," he said.

"That's good. Granny's mix of herbs have the most potent anti-inflammatory effect," aunt Claudia said back. Jill felt proud of her grandmother and worked even harder at making that poultice. When it was properly applied and bandaged, they continued to travel.

Jill hadn't realized, but she had fallen asleep some time in the afternoon and the next time she woke up, it was already nightfall and they had stopped outside of a train station. She peeked out from the front flap and looked around. Jules and Dr Wilson were nowhere to be seen, but Will and aunt Claudia were standing by the horses. She stayed in the back of the wagon, determined to protect this lady if anything happened.

After a while, she heard some voices talking outside the wagon.

"How did it go?" Will asked.

"We're good to go. I contacted the hospital and they know we're coming and are preparing to receive us when we arrive," Dr Wilson said.

"We've got our tickets and we have a bed for the lady. It's an express train to Central. We'll get there in about ten hours," Jules added.

"What about the wagon?" aunt Claudia asked.

"We'll leave them here in the care of someone my father knows and when the rest of the caravan passes by, they'll pick it up then. I already told my father about this before we left," Jules explained. They rarely took the train because they usually travelled in caravans, with many wagons and animals. It would be too expensive if they had to take the train every time they needed to get to another city. It took longer by foot and by horse, but it was more pleasant. The rest of the caravan would take another week before they reached Central.

She heard movements and seconds later, the back flap was open and Jules peeked in.

"You're awake," he stated, "We're preparing to get on the train now." He helped her down the wagon, handed her her backpack and some other things for her to help carry. The others came to stand beside him, waiting for him to fish out their bags. Aunt Claudia and Will carried most of their luggage, while Jules and Dr Wilson prepared to carry the lady out of the wagon on the stretcher.

Luckily, this was a small town and the train station was almost deserted. Seeing that they were carrying an injured person on board, the people working in the station guided them carefully to their seats and made sure they had everything they needed. They thanked them for their help and settled in their seats. The compartment they were in was devoid of any other passengers.

"Jules, I'm hungry," Jill whispered to her brother. He smiled at her and looked through their bags, rummaging for the one that contained their food supply.

"Anybody else hungry?" he asked. He handed a sandwich to each person and they all ate in silence until the train blew its whistle, signalling their departure.

Jill paused in the middle of a bite and quickly looked out the window. Her curious look turned into delight as she saw the train move away from the station and slowly picking up speed.

"Wow!" It's so fast!" she exclaimed in admiration. Dr Wilson chuckled.

"First time on a train?" he asked her.

"Yes!" She turned to face him. "I'm sure you've travelled a lot by train already, right?"

"That's right. I've travelled to many places around Amestris, going from one place to another, learning the traditional medical practices until I met your grandmother and decided to stick with your group of travelling merchants to learn more from her."

"And did you learn a lot?" she asked after forcing down another bite of her sandwich.

"She enlightened me," he said fondly. "I can say that she has been my best teacher up to date." Jill smiled with pride at the mention of her grandmother's knowledge.

The next few hours, the fours adults engaged in light conversation, while Jill stared out the window, lost in her own thoughts. When it was too dark to see anything outside, she looked back to the sleeping lady in front of her. Jill, aunt Claudia and Dr Wilson were seated directly opposed from the bed, while Will and Jules sat on another bench behind them.

As she watched the sleeping lady, she noticed sweat beads forming on her face. _Is she hot?_ She looked to her side and saw aunt Claudia writing in her notebook and Dr Wilson sleeping. Slowly, she inched forward and extended her hand towards the sleeping figure. She lightly touched her palm to the lady's forehead, only to pull her hand away like it's been burned.

"Aunt Claudia, I think she's having a fever. She's really hot," she said urgently to the woman sitting beside her. Aunt Claudia immediately shook Dr Wilson awake and then proceeded to feel the lady's temperature herself.

"What is it?" Dr Wilson asked anxiously.

"She's having a high fever." Aunt Claudia was presently measuring her temperature and when the numbers came out, she said, "39.5°C"

Jill didn't really know how bad it was, but from the looks on the two adults and their agitation, she supposed that it was pretty severe. She sat back in the corner of her seat, a little frightened, not knowing what to do and not wanting to get in their way.

"Damn, we don't have a cold compress or anything." He looked around quickly. "Cold water then. Can someone get us very cold water?" he asked out loud. She was about to volunteer, but her brother was already up and down the corridor, so she sat back down.

They had removed the blankets from her body and were doing everything they could to cool her down. She saw Dr Wilson prepare a syringe with clear liquid inside and give the lady a shot in the right arm.

"This should help a bit, but I don't know how effective it'll be. We can't let this fever get any higher then it is. If not, it could cause some permanent damage to her brain," he said in a low voice to aunt Claudia, but Jill overheard it. Dr Wilson's face was grim and pensive. _Not a good sign._

She knew what they were afraid of. If the lady's condition continued to deteriorate, they only had so much to work with that they most probably wouldn't be able to help her if it got any worse. _If only granny was here. She'd be able to help her with her alchemy._ However, her grandmother was elderly and couldn't move around too much. Just travelling with the rest of the caravan was tiring for her sometimes.

Jules came back with a basin of ice cold water and aunt Claudia dipped a cloth in it to lay it across the lady's forehead. The moment it touched her skin, Jill saw goosebumps appear on her skin and a light shiver. Aunt Claudia and Dr Wilson proceeded to apply more cold cloths across her chest, her arms and her legs. After a few minutes, the cloths were dipped into the cold water again, wrung out and put back to the same place. They checked her temperature regularly and noted a little decrease.

Dr Wilson sighed restlessly and looked at his wristwatch. "Six hours. She needs to last another six hours until we arrive." No one said anything, but they all knew these next six hours were going to be dreadfully long.

"I think we should give her a name. We can't keep calling her the lady," Jill said out of the blue.

Everyone glanced at her and considered her idea.

"I guess that's true. But we don't know her name," Will said.

"Well, since we won't know her real name until she wakes up, then I should give her a temporary one," Jill stated.

"Why you?" Jules asked dubiously.

"Because I'm the one who found her."

"Then what do you suggest we name her for the time being?" Dr Wilson asked her.

"I got the perfect name. We should call her miss waterfall." Everyone looked at her with blank faces. "What? It's the perfect name for her. It's where she came from."

They all laughed or chuckled, which Jill did not find very amusing.

"Jill, that's not a name for a human," Will said after he composed himself.

"I know, but we can't give her real name for a person because maybe she won't like it when she wakes up. We should name her miss waterfall because it'll be easy to change to her real name once we know it. If you give her a human name, you'll get used to it and it'll be hard to change," Jill argued. None of them could really see the logic in her explanations, but they accepted it anyways, for she was starting to get upset and they didn't want to make to argue over such a trivial matter.

A few minutes passed and she felt her eyes droop heavily, making it harder and harder for her to stay awake. She didn't know when she fell asleep, but she woke up sore and aching from having slept in an uncomfortable position in the corner. She looked around her in a daze and saw that Will and Jules were sound asleep on the bench behind hers. Aunt Claudia was also sleeping, although it didn't seem to be as deep as the two guys, while Dr Wilson was awake.

"Did her fever go down?" she asked quietly.

"A bit, but she still has a fever, although she's out of the dangerous zone now," he said after being startled.

Miss waterfall did seem to be resting a little bit better. Jill tried to go back to sleep, but she was uncomfortable and restless.

"When will we be arriving in Central?" she asked after a while. It was still dark outside and she couldn't tell what time it was or how long they'd been travelling.

"In an hour," Dr Wilson said calmly after checking his watch. Jill shot up and her eyes were suddenly brighter. _One hour?_ Dr Wilson chuckled at her sudden change of mood.

"Can you keep an eye on miss waterfall for me? I'm going to make a phone call to the Central General Hospital. If you see any changes, wake aunt Claudia up." Jill nodded and watched him leave.

She leaned in close to miss waterfall's face and whispered, "we're almost there. You'll be in good hands once we get there. Dr Wilson says he knows some great doctors in Central and I'm sure they can help you get better."

When Dr Wilson came back, she immediately asked about his phone call.

"They'll be waiting for us at the station with a team and an ambulance, ready to transport her to the hospital." Jill's face brightened at the good news. By then, she was already fully awake.

"Do you know who'll be treating her?"

"One of the doctor in the team that's meeting us is a good friend of mine and there's also my teacher at the hospital that will be waiting for us. He's the best doctor you can get."

Jill was relieved to know that miss waterfall would be in the care of the best doctors in the country. By the time an announcement was made, saying that they would arrive in ten minutes, it was early dawn and the sun was just starting to rise. They came to a slow stop at Central's train station, which was the biggest one she had ever seen. Due to the time of the day, not many people were up and about, so it resembled the deserted station they had departed from.

They all gathered their bags and luggage, but before they touched miss waterfall, Dr Wilson waved to a group of people on the platform from the open window.

"Dr Carson! Over here!" he called them over. Jill saw another man signal to other people and they disappeared somewhere.

Seconds later, a tall middle aged man came onboard towards their seats. She knew he was Dr Carson, since he and Dr Wilson shook hands and hugged each other right away. Without wasting time, Dr Wilson showed him their patient and Dr Carson's expression changed. Will and Jules offered to bring her out on the stretcher. Very carefully, they got her off the train and onto the platform, where an ambulance was waiting in front. The two other people who had been with Dr Carson were waiting for them and opened the back doors when they arrived. Once installed in the truck, Dr Carson's two assistants sat in the front while he and Dr Wilson went in the back.

"We'll meet you at the hospital later. We'll look for a place to stay first to drop off our bags and luggages, then we'll head to the hospital," Jules said. Jill pouted in frustration behind him. _I want to go with them!_ However, she had promised her dad that she would behave and listen to her brother, so she decided to keep quiet.

They rode a taxi to an inn and got themselves two rooms. Everyone took their turn washing up and changing clothes before heading downstairs and grabbing some breakfast to go. They arrived at the Central General Hospital an hour later. The place was huge and they weren't quite sure where to go, even with the directions from the front desk. Apparently, they had rushed her into the operating room upon immediate arrival and there was no news of her condition since then.

When they finally the operating room, they sat down on the chairs aligned against the walls of the corridor. Jill ate and slept some more, since she hadn't gotten much sleep on the train. She was woken up by a gentle tap on her shoulder by her brother. They were all standing up, with Dr Wilson coming out of the pair of doors.

"Dr Wilson!" she exclaimed and ran up to him. He was still in his scrubs so she didn't touch him. "How is she doing?"

"She's still in there. Dr Carson, Dr Paige and I are doing our best to complete the operations that your granny and I couldn't do in our tent," he told them.

"How's her condition though? Do you think she'll make it out alright?" aunt Claudia asked.

"Hmm, we're doing our best to fix her up, but we won't be able to make a full assessment of her condition until she wakes up," he said regretfully. "I should get back in there to help them out. I just wanted to see if you had all arrived and give you some news."

Jill felt like they had been waiting for an eternity. She fell in and out of sleep and would have completely lost track of time if not for the clock on the wall. She sighed heavily and stared pensively at her feet. Why is it taking so long? _What if something went wrong? _She was feeling restless, but as she jumped up on her feet to relieve her pent up energy, the two operating doors opened and she gasped in surprise.

She was so happy to see Dr Wilson coming out, holding onto the end of a rolling bed, with Dr Carson on one side and an older man on the other side, who was probably Dr Paige. Dr Wilson gave her a small reassuring smile as he caught her eyes and saw her fierce questioning look.

"The operation was successful, but she's still in critical condition. We'll have to keep a close watch on her for the next 24 hours and hope that she stabilizes more." They all nodded and followed close behind as the doctors wheeled her to a private room.

Jill saw a panel on top that marked 'Intensive Care Unit' and swallowed nervously. _So she's not out of danger yet?_ The doctors and nurses were in the room installing machines and tubes around miss waterfall, while the rest of them waited outside, observing everything through the large glass windows.

"Do you think she'll make it through?" she asked out loud to nobody in particular. Her brother looked down at her with sad sympathy.

"She's survived up until now. She's strong. We have to believe in her." He drew her close to him and she relished the warmth of his body, for she was feeling inexplicably cold. The only thing that she understood from the machines was the line and the spikes shown on one of the screens. _Her heart is beating strongly._

She heard the doctors introducing themselves and talking to her brother, Will and aunt Claudia, but Jill was only focused on the pale sleeping figure in the other room. Other than her polite bow at their introductions, her face remained glued to the glass.

"When she felt a presence beside her, she asked without looking up, "what are we looking out for? I thought the operation was successful? Is something else going to happen to her?" Luckily for her, it was Dr Wilson who was standing beside her.

"We're watching out for any signs of relapse. It doesn't happen that often, but it can. We have to monitor her vital signs until she is stabilized. After the first 24 hours, the risks of relapsing decreases tremendously, so if she can make it through, then I would dare to say that she would recover." Jill acknowledged silently. Her heart was beating loudly and faster than usual when she realized that these next 24 hours were going to be dreadfully frightening.

Jill was determined to wait those 24 hours, but she found out that waiting was extremely exhausting. When it was late morning, the hospital was full of life, with doctors, nurses, patients and family members bustling around. Someone always brought her food and it was only then that she realized she had been hungry. When nighttime came, she was consumed by fatigue and yawned non-stop.

"It's time to go back to the hotel Jill," her brother told her.

"No, I want to stay here to keep a watch on her," she protested tiredly.

"Dr Wilson will call us if anything happens. You haven't had a good night sleep yesterday so you need one tonight." Jill pouted, but knew he was right. She was awfully sleepy and had no energy to fight back.

She stood up slowly and walked out of the hospital with the three others, dragging her feet behind her. However, once she got in the taxi, she was asleep in seconds and her brother had to carry her to bed.

The next day, she was woken up by aunt Claudia.

"Wake up Jill. It's time to go to the hospital." She quickly got ready and, like yesterday, they grabbed a breakfast to go and headed to the hospital.

When they arrived in front of miss waterfall's room, Dr Wilson was just coming out.

"Ah, there you are!" he said to her, beaming. Seeing his positive expression, she released a little sigh of relief. "Good news, her state did not change throughout the night and she has high chances of stabilizing."

"Really? Is she going to wake up then?" Jill asked eagerly. Dr Paige came out of nowhere beside her and patted her gently on the shoulder.

"Now, it's still a little early to say that, but it does appear favourable. Hopefully, she continues healing at this pace."

Now that Jill knew she was out of the danger zone, she was a little less worried for her. In the afternoon, they all went into town to buy some supplies and some food and snacks, since the food in the hospital was really expensive and not very tasty. With her stabilized state, they allowed themselves to roam around the city for a few hours every day.

After four days, the doctors finally decided it was a good time to slowly take her off the medications that were keeping her in a state of artificial coma. Jill leaped with excitement and joy after hearing the news.

"So when the medications wear off, she'll be able to wake up?" she asked them.

"Yes, that's what's supposed to happen," Dr Wilson said. She didn't like the tone of his voice and the word 'supposed'.

Frowning, she asked, "what do you mean supposed? Could something else happen to her?" _Why are there so many complications? Is it that hard just to wake her up?_

"I told you before that we deliberately put her in that state to let her brain heal properly because there was bleeding inside and she might have had an injury. We've made scans and saw that the bleeding had stopped, but we can't foretell the extent of her injuries for sure. We'll have to see when she tries to wake up," Dr Wilson explained to her. She frowned at him in denial, but kept her mouth shut. _They know better than I do. I hope nothing's wrong with her._

So she trusted them and waited patiently like they did. The next day, she stayed at the hospital the whole day, watching the doctors, the nurses and patients come and go.

"Why is it taking so long for her to wake up? It's been a day already and nothing's changed," she said out loud in confusion.

"It's because it takes time for the medications to leave her body. When they're eliminated, then she'll slowly be able to wake up," aunt Claudia answered her with an amused smile. "You're excited aren't you?" Jill smiled shyly. "When she wakes up, you can tell her that you were the one who found her and saved her. You can also know her real name instead of calling her miss waterfall." Aunt Claudia and the two guys chuckled.

"Yeah and I'll ask her for her story and how she ended up like that."

"I think you should wait and let her tell you when she's ready. We don't know what she's been through and you don't want to put pressure on her to tell you something that she's not ready to share," she explained. Jill thought about it and nodded.

They had waited all day to see any changes and it was starting to get dark outside when her brother suggested they go eat something outside before heading back to their inn.

"But what if she wakes up during the night?" Jill asked anxiously.

"Then we'll be able to meet her tomorrow. The nurses and doctors will take good care of her," Jules said with an air of authority, knowing his little sister would retort sharply if he had said it gently.

Jill pouted and went to stand in front of the big glass windows. She knew they'd wait a few more minutes to let her be satisfied because nobody called her back. She stared hard at miss waterfall, willing her with all her might for her to wake up or do something.

Then, suddenly, she saw a little movement. She gasped lightly, not sure if it had been an optical illusion, and brought her face closer to the glass if it was even possible. She focused hard for any small movements and after a few seconds, she saw it again. Her eyes widened, but she didn't move yet, wanting to confirm it once more. There it was again, little twitches here and there.

"She moved! She moved!" Jill exclaimed, looking back quickly at the others, "Dr Wilson! She's waking up!" she practically yelled in the hallway.

Her brother, Will and aunt Claudia were by her side, trying to see for themselves if it was true. When they all saw what she had seen. They smiled and also looked around for one of the doctors. Dr Wilson and Dr Carson arrived first and they watched them go inside from the window.

Jill watched with great attention as they called her, checked her vital signs, touching her at different places to stimulate her consciousness. However, her smile faltered when she saw Dr Wilson's confused look. Miss waterfall's little movements had turned into an uncontrollable shiver. It was so severe that Jill saw her shake from the window. She couldn't hear, but she saw the doctors giving out orders and people rushing around. When Dr Paige arrived, miss waterfall's temperature had risen to a dangerously high temperature. Ice packs were brought in and medication was administered through her intravenous tube.

Jill was watching in a frightened trance and only came out of it when the head nurse closed the blinds inside, giving her a stern, but concerned, look.

"Jill, go sit down," her brother told her. He held her by her shoulders firmly and led her to her chair. She looked down at her shaking hands on her lap and tears streamed down her face. "It's okay Jill, she's in good hands." She cried silently in her brother's embrace.

"Poor her," she said when she was confident enough to speak normally, "it must be so hard for her. She must be suffering. What if she wants to wake up but can't? Oh, poor her." Her brother didn't say anything, but rubbed her back to comfort her. "What if she can't wake up soon? We won't be here for much longer. It would be so sad if she woke up with nobody around to support her."

They waited in silence for almost and hour before the doctors came out. Jill looked up in despair, but was too afraid to ask them anything.

"She's stabilized again. It seems it was too early to wake her up," Dr Paige said.

"Why was she shivering so much?" Jules asked.

"We believe that the part of her brain that regulated the body temperature is damaged, so her body was not able to control the temperature properly and quickly raised it to a dangerous level. We were able to stabilize it with ice until we could put her back into a coma. We'll have to do more scans tomorrow to confirm our hypothesis. One thing that's sure is that her body wastes too much energy trying to produce heat when it shouldn't be and that'll prevent her body from healing properly," Dr Paige explained.

Jill looked down sadly. _So she's not able to wake up?_ She didn't remember how the rest of the night went by, but they all ended up back at the inn.

"Jill, don't think too much about it. Sleep well. Mom, dad, granny and Lucas are going to arrive tomorrow," Jules said to cheer her up. She smiled sadly at him and nodded. It took a long time for her to fall asleep, but she did and it was a restless one.

She was happy to see her parents and her best friend the next morning, but her energy was not the same. She knew her brother and the others had already explained everything that happened, because her mom came to hug her and comfort her when she saw her. Lucas, on the other had, still wanted her to tell him everything, so she did. He was just as sad as she was when she finished. Granny was busy with the doctors, so she didn't get to see her immediately.

Jill tried to cheer up by touring the city and playing with Lucas and their other friends, but in the end, her thoughts always came back to miss waterfall and it saddened her once more.

"Why did you name her miss waterfall?" Lucas asked her suddenly.

"Because that's where we found her," she answered directly.

"But that's not a name. It's so silly."

"At least we know it's not a name. We don't want to be calling her someone else's name." Lucas made a funny face, but didn't want to argue with her because he knew he'd lose.

A week had passed quickly without any changes in her condition and she knew they would only stay for a couple more days. The whole caravan had to continue on their journey to visit the rest of the cities in Amestris and then head to Xing before the weather started to turn cold. Her father, being the head of the group, couldn't stall any longer even if he wanted to because he was responsible for all the other merchant families. They also didn't know how long they'd have to wait for her to wake up, so they would have no choice but to leave.

On the day of their departure, Jill felt heartsick while spending her last day staring at miss waterfall from her chair across the hallway. _Will you ever get better? Will I get to meet you one day?_ Jill decided that if she wasn't going to be there when she woke up, then she'd write her a letter of introduction. Writing this letter made her feel so much better and less sad to leave. _At least she'll know that someone wished for her to wake up when she wakes up._

"Dr Wilson!" she called when she saw him walking in the hallway. "Can you give this to miss waterfall when she wakes up?" She handed her letter to him and he smiled at her.

"Of course Jill. I promise I will," he said sincerely.

"Thank you. Promise me you'll do your best to treat her."

"I promise. I'll do my very best. Now, you should get going. Everyone is getting ready to leave and I'm sure your family will be looking for you very soon. I was just heading there myself."

She walked out of the Central General Hospital with Dr Wilson for the last time and left with the caravan after saying her goodbyes to everyone she knew in Central. Jill watched the city fade away into the distance, her heart heavy with regret.

* * *

**A.N.: **Surprise! New passing character! Can you guess who miss waterfall is? Quite a ridiculous name lol. I hoped this chapter was okay, but I can already predict the disappointment in the lack of information and advancement in the storyline haha! I have foreseen the rest of the chapters and how this story will end so I just have to write it out soon :) I hope you guys continue to support this story and I promise not to disappoint with the future chapters. Till next time.

P.S.: No chapters for July! :0

D


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